About Us
Making academic pathways visible and accessible.
YouCanToo is a mentorship and support network created to support women in higher education and professional life, particularly those facing structural, social, or personal barriers along their career paths.
​
The initiative focuses on women who may have limited access to informal networks, mentoring opportunities, or institutional guidance due to their background, life circumstances, or mobility-related challenges.
​
While YouCanToo is open to all women, it places a strong emphasis on supporting immigrant and migrant women in Europe, women planning international relocation to Europe, particularly those coming from or connected to the Global South, and those navigating new academic, cultural, or institutional environments for the first time.
​
The service is especially relevant for women at early career stages, whether in academia or industry. This includes Master’s students and recent graduates, PhD candidates, particularly in the early stages of their doctorate, as well as women transitioning from academia to industry, exploring alternative career paths, or seeking clarity, confidence, and direction at the beginning of their professional journey.
​​​
​
​
​
Value Proposition​
​
Academia is shaped not only by merit, but by access: access to guidance, mentorship, information, and representation. Yet many women are expected to navigate complex academic systems without sufficient support or context.
YouCanToo exists to change that.
​
Through one-to-one mentorship, application guidance, and peer-led community learning, YouCanToo provides practical, experience-based support rooted in empathy, trust, and collective growth.
​
At the core of the initiative is a near-peer, peer-to-peer mentoring model. Our mentors are PhD graduates who have recently navigated the academic pathways current PhD candidates are facing.
This approach recognizes mentorship not only as a source of support for mentees, but also as a meaningful professional development opportunity for early-career researchers.
​
Mentors apply to YouCanToo through a global, open call and are not limited by geography, institutional prestige, or location. This structure enables scholars from underrepresented backgrounds to participate as mentors and be recognized for their lived expertise.
​
Crucially, YouCanToo places full autonomy in the hands of mentees. Participants choose their own mentors and may engage with more than one mentor, acknowledging that academic guidance is not one-size-fits-all and that power should rest with those seeking support.
​
At YouCanToo, we believe that with the right guidance, community, and confidence, academic journeys become not only possible, but sustainable.
Our Story
YouCanToo was born from lived experience.
As migrants, many of us would not be where we are today without the support of people who guided us, shared their knowledge, and believed in us—sometimes before we fully believed in ourselves.
​
Along the way, we learned an important truth: academic success is rarely achieved alone. It is shaped by mentorship, access to information, and communities willing to open doors that often remain closed.
​
Yet we also saw how uneven this support can be. Too many women, especially migrant women and women from the Global South, are expected to navigate academic systems without guidance, representation, or context.
​
YouCanToo was created to become the support we once needed.
By bringing together mentors, peers, and shared knowledge, we aim to make academic pathways more transparent, accessible, and humane so that others do not have to navigate them alone.
Meet Pixel - Our Mascot!
Black cats have long been misunderstood, often judged before they are truly seen.
Pixel is one of them.
​
Quiet and observant, Pixel learned to navigate the world by watching closely, learning patiently, and trusting her own instincts.
When others underestimated her, she adapted. When the path wasn’t clear, she found his own way.
​
Pixel represents those who have been misread, underestimated, or overlooked—just like many of the women we support.​
Like them, Pixel moves forward with resilience, curiosity, and quiet determination.
She reminds us that strength doesn’t always announce itself, and that finding your path doesn’t require fitting into expectations.​
If Pixel could do it, so can you.
