The impact of personalised mentorship on the academic, personal, and professional development of black students in UK higher education

This study examines the impact of personalised, culturally responsive mentorship on the academic, personal, and professional development of Black students in UK higher education. Drawing on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and listening rooms with participants in the Accomplished Study Programme in Research Excellence (ASPIRE), the research explores how mentorship fosters confidence, enhances research capabilities, facilitates career readiness, and builds networks of belonging. Framed through the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which emphasises shared humanity, relationality, and collective uplift, ASPIRE offers a relational model of mentorship grounded in shared identity, mutual respect, and collective uplift. Findings demonstrate that culturally aligned mentoring relationships cultivate self-efficacy, academic engagement, and strategic career planning while addressing systemic barriers related to racial inequity and underrepresentation. By positioning Ubuntu as both the theoretical and ethical foundation of ASPIRE, the study illustrates how African philosophy can inform inclusive mentorship practice and contribute to equity in higher education. The study contributes to mentorship theory by foregrounding the psychosocial and identity-affirming dimensions of mentorship and offers a multi-dimensional framework for inclusive mentorship practice in higher education.