Name: Kate Debling
Degree Programme: BA (Hons) English
Year of Study: 3rd Year
Pathway Programme Completed: Pathways to Arts, Culture, and Heritage
Internship Role/Job Title: Heritage Innovation Communications Assistant
Internship Employer: University of Exeter Culture Team
During the summer of 2020, I undertook an internship with the University of Exeter Culture Team as part of the Pathways internship programme. As a digital content creator for the Exeter Heritage website, I created news and blog content pertaining to heritage-based academic research and projects led in the South West. Upon returning to Exeter for my final year of study in September, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to extend my work within the team as a heritage innovation communications assistant.
The University of Exeter Culture Team seeks to protect heritage through continuous academic research and projects, led by both the University of Exeter and Heritage Exeter’s partners. Throughout my pathways internship, there was a strong focus on building connections between the university and external heritage bodies, as well as the collaboration between university campuses. In the continuation of this internship work, I have been able to be more involved in projects and partnerships between organisations that I had covered initially in the summer of 2020. In becoming more acquainted with heritage partners and academics, I was able to research projects more deeply and write more compelling pieces.
Alongside working on the university’s heritage research, partnerships and projects, being part of the culture team has connected me to a variety of individuals within the university. These connections have led to great opportunities for collaborative work, specifically through the blog aspect of the university’s heritage website. The blog, which introduced me to a new form of writing, has been a space for showcasing and recording a range of conversations with members of Exeter’s heritage and culture departments, its students and external individuals who work in the university’s overarching heritage practice. These opportunities have improved my knowledge of, and work within, the heritage network.
Having developed digital skills during my initial Pathways internship, remote working this year has been much easier. The flexibility of remote working also enabled me to keep on top of my studies alongside my work. Both of my internship experiences have taught me some invaluable collaborative, management, and creative skills, and I would, therefore, strongly encourage students to participate in the Pathways scheme and other internship opportunities offered at the University of Exeter.