Name of Student: Samuel
Pathway Programme: Pathways to Art, Culture and Heritage
Internship Role: Assistant to Curator/Senior Archivist
Summary of Organisation: The Teign Heritage Centre is home to the Teignmouth and Shaldon Museum and is run entirely by volunteers. It has two galleries with permanent exhibits reflecting the current
and past history of the local area. These permanent exhibits are supplemented by exhibitions that occur 2/3 times a year.
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship.
I spent my Professional Pathways internship at the Teign Heritage Centre, the local museum down the coast from Exeter in Teignmouth. During my 55-hour internship my main role was to work with Lin Watson, head archivist, on the delivery of two brand-new permanent exhibitions to the Centre under the auspices of the European-wide ‘T.I.D.E Project’. My particular task here was to research the impact of the First World War German U-Boat offensive and its impact on Teignmouth and the surrounding area, using materials both from the Heritage Centre and conducting my own external research. This work informed the delivery of, and will accompany, one of the new permanent exhibitions which is a virtual reality experience where the user can take on the role of an observer in a ’kite-balloon’, being flown from a warship, on the lookout for U-Boats off the South Devon coastline.
In addition to my main role at the Centre, I also assisted other volunteers across a number of areas. I worked with the archives team, helping out with an ongoing photo digitisation project as well as assisting in the completion of a new temporary exhibition on ‘Regency Teignmouth’. I worked with Eileen, education officer, to research, prototype, and finalise a ‘history walk’ around Teignmouth. I worked with Rosemary the enquiries officer, helping out with the researching of a family history request and then subsequently meeting with the interested parties to communicate our findings. I worked with Geoff who runs the Centre’s website to review and improve the ‘Teignmouth and Shaldon in WW2’ webpage. And I worked with museum shop manager Jenny to both improve my knowledge of the commercial aspects of running a museum and to assist in the organisation and running of a craft fair for the local community at the Centre.
How has the Professional Pathways programme helped you in taking the next steps in your career?
The training I was given before my Professional Pathways internship not only increased my overall knowledge of the Arts, Culture & Heritage sector, but also helped me to feel more prepared for my internship which immediately followed. I found it invaluable to engage with professionals on a number of topics such as providing a great visitor experience to securing the necessary funding to secure the success of heritage projects. Furthermore, the group I participated in during the training helped further my skills in working collaboratively to deliver an outcome, in this case being an advisory presentation to the Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust.
I would say the biggest immediate impact Professional Pathways has had on my career moving forward is not only the opportunity to spend my internship within a heritage organisation, but also the opportunities it opens for you moving forward. In my case this has led to me staying on at the Teign Heritage Centre following my internship, and I am now a fully-fledged member of the all-volunteer staff at the Centre. Here I can continue with the roles I worked in during my internship, including most notably following up my work on the new ‘T.I.D.E Project’ exhibits which have just been fully installed at the Centre in the last few days.
How do you think this experience will impact on your employability as you enter the job market as a recent graduate?
Taking part in Professional Pathways has provided me with direct, relevant, and valuable experience in working in the arts, culture & heritage sector as a team member delivering projects in a heritage organisation. It is this directly relevant job-role experience I hope to carry forward not just into a future role in the heritage sector, but also to other roles; roles such as the Civil Service, who I am currently completing applications for, with my direct experience of working collaboratively in the field of project delivery, in this case the delivery of a heritage project, being something I intend to stress during my application process.
What achievement(s) were you particularly proud of during your Pathways internship?
As I have mentioned previously, I am particularly proud of my time working, and my continued work, on the two new permanent exhibitions at the Teign Heritage Centre under the auspices of the European-wide ‘T.I.D.E Project’. The ability to work on such an exciting new project, combined with its direct relevance to both my future career plans and my own historical interests was frankly amazing. And the idea that I have directly contributed to the delivery of these new developments and provided my own work to go alongside them is something I continue to take immense pride in.
Given the Professional Pathways internship is 35 hours in total, what advice would you give to other students to ensure they gain as much as possible from the experience?
Although the time period initially seemed short to me, I was able to engage in such a great variety of roles in a number of areas during my internship. As such, I would absolutely stress to future participants in Professional Pathways that your experience will only be improved if you grasp it with both hands and explore the widest possible range of opportunities presented to you. I would also take this opportunity to say that the benefit you can derive from your internship is in no way constricted by the number of hours you are paid for, as evidenced by my continued volunteering at the Teign Heritage Centre which I enjoy immensely to this day.
Why would you recommend the Professional Pathways programme to other students?
I would recommend the Professional Pathways to Arts, Culture & Heritage to all students as I feel it presents a unique opportunity to further yourself in a number of areas. Whether that is the training which introduces you not just to professionals from a number of fields, but also to other students who share your goals and interests; not to mention the effect of the training itself. Or whether that is the internship which has the ability to introduce you to another brilliant group of people and provide you with many opportunities to grow within the particular sector in which you are engaged; not to mention the further opportunities you can derive from it. I feel that I have benefitted from all this and more during my time on the Professional Pathways programme, and I continue to benefit from it going forward thanks to the new skills I have learnt and the new connections I have made.