Morgado, LinaAfonso, Ana PaulaFerret, NathalieGomes, Marta2022-05-092022-05-092022Morgado, L., Afonso, A. P., Ferret, N., & Gomes, M. (2022). The Challenges Behind the Development of an E-Mentoring Model for Online Distance Education: A Pilot Experience. In M. Loureiro, A. Loureiro, & H. Gerber (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Global Education and the Impact of Institutional Policies on Educational Technologies (pp. 363-376). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-8193-3.ch018http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/11927Projeto eMentoria integrado no GT GT Transferência de Conhecimento + Inovação (GT TC + I), parceria DEED/LE@DDifferent higher education institutions (HEI) have broadly adopted peer mentoring as a strategy to pro vide initial and continuous support for new students, to promote their academic inclusion. In Distance Education HEI, peer e-mentoring assumes a crucial role in the promotion and maintenance of social and cognitive presence and in the creation of a sense of belonging to the academic community. Thus, it is assumed as a crucial support for the overcoming of online students’ specific difficulties and as a fac tor for his success. After a theoretical framework, this chapter presents the case of a pilot e-mentoring project implemented in a European open university based on the paradigms of virtual learning commu nities and the model of the community of inquiry (CoI). To conclude, it presents a set of assumptions for the construction of an e-mentoring model adapted to online DE and further research to be conductedenge-mentoring modele-mentoring pilot experienceDistance education support systemsCommunity of inquirybook part10.4018/978-1-7998-8193-3.ch018