Co-creation workshops identify priorities for peer mentoring

Updated Sep 07, 2026

student supportstudent voice

Catherine Thompson, Chenelle Ashun, Caroline Knowles and Eve Binks used co-creation workshops to explore peer mentoring before evaluating a programme. Their 2026 paper identifies priorities for design, rather than evidence that mentoring improved retention.

What participants prioritised

Two workshops at Liverpool Hope University in February and March 2024 involved nine undergraduate psychology students and four staff. Activity-based discussions were analysed thematically.

Themes concerned mentors, mentees and how a scheme would operate. Participants emphasised mentor wellbeing, boundaries, clear communication and signposting to appropriate services. They proposed automatic enrolment with an option to withdraw, partly to address concerns about stigma.

The sample was small and self-selected. Participants had no direct experience as mentors or mentees, and the authors explicitly say programme success requires evaluation. These proposals therefore cannot establish that an opt-out model increases use or that co-creation improves wellbeing.

Designing a local pilot

Our recommendation is to clarify the mentor role with students and staff, including when to refer someone to existing support. Involve people with actual mentoring experience as well as potential participants. Agree how mentors can raise concerns about their own workload.

Before launch, decide what evidence would indicate that the scheme is useful and manageable. Include accounts from students who do not use it. Analysis of open comments can support that review, provided missing voices and response coverage remain visible.

FAQ

Does the study show that opt-out mentoring works better?

No. It reports a workshop proposal, not a comparison of enrolment models.

Was the whole paper checked?

Accessible indexed methods, results and limitations were reviewed. Complete text retrieval was unavailable, so this remains a partial-text verification.

Reference

Catherine Thompson, Chenelle Ashun, Caroline Knowles and Eve Binks (2026). Using co-creation to explore important aspects of peer-mentoring for undergraduate students. Innovations in Education and Teaching International.

Correction, 7 September 2026: replaced the effectiveness claim in the headline and distinguished workshop suggestions from evaluated mentoring outcomes.