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I am a PhD student and apart from academic supervisors I also have a mentor. This mentor I haven't met in person yet and have only communicated through email once. But I am going to meet the mentor in person in a conference. My question is how am I going to introduce myself to him? It is important for me to make a good connection with this mentor. Since I wrote that email long time ago he might not remember me at all.

How do I approach him? Should I mention to him that he is my mentor and then explain to him what I am doing in my research?
Is it okay to say that he is being assigned as my mentor ? How can I say this politely?

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    Who assigned him to be your mentor? How was he informed about it? (By your mail?) Did he agree? This situation seems very strange to me to be honest... – asquared Sep 20 '17 at 13:36
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    Agree with @JayFromA ... very strange. Voting to close as unclear because in no universe I am familiar with are folks assigned as mentors without them even knowing about it. – Mad Jack Sep 20 '17 at 13:46
  • A mentor that you don't know and have no contact with? That seems not overly useful. – xLeitix Sep 20 '17 at 14:18
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    You probably don't mean mentor. Maybe your role model? Or personal hero? Once you get to talk with him he might become your mentor if you two click at intellectual level. – user21264 Sep 20 '17 at 15:55
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    "Hi, I'm Sam. I believe you're my assigned mentor." – JeffE Sep 20 '17 at 21:45
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Schedule a time to talk in advance. Email him again, mention how he came to be identified as your mentor (as a reminder, in case he forgot), and ask if you could get lunch with him or meet whenever is convenient during the conference. In my experience, many researchers have packed schedules during conferences and may not have the time to speak with you when you find him.

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