Student Name: Niamh
Pathway Programme: Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage (2025 Cohort)
Internship Role: Assistant Archivist
Internship Employer: Teign Heritage Centre
Summary of Organisation: Teign Heritage is a small local museum that attracts about 10,000 visitors per year. It contains two galleries, a small retail area, and office and archive room. The centre is run entirely by volunteers, has a small management team and around 15 archivists.
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship:
“My project was to create an exhibition proposal for an upcoming exhibition – Teignmouth in the 1920’s. To do this, I worked alongside the Senior Archivist to navigate the museum’s archives for relevant items for the exhibition. I was responsible for handling and repackaging delicate items according to procedure, and I particularly focused on a selection of paper guidebooks from 1920-28. At the end of my internship, I produced a document containing my ideas for the exhibition. I was also responsible for creating promotional material for the exhibition.“
How has the Professional Pathways programme helped you in taking the next steps in your career?
“The training helped me in taking the next steps of my career because it was useful to hear from industry professionals. I had a prior interest in archival management but after one speaker discussed her role as an archivist, I knew I wanted to pursue this as a career.
Furthermore, in my internship I directly contributed to archival management. I used this on my CV when applying for archival jobs. I was invited to an interview as a Trainee Archivist, and I used my experience I gained in my internship during the interview. I was offered the job and I believe the practical skills I gained in my internship, and the soft skills developed in the training aided me in the process.“
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?
“My advice is to ask, where possible, for a clear timetable/plan of each day with your employer. I found it useful that THC supplied me with a timetable so I could see when I was learning new skills and whether there were any gaps in things I wanted to have a look at. For example, I wanted more time spent on cataloguing, so I asked my line manager whether I could fit more into the timetable. This meant that I could spend time on a section of the internship I was really interested in.“
Why would you recommend the Professional Pathways programme to other students?
“I would recommend Pathways because it increases employability. The training improved my soft skills and was a good way of understanding the career progression of industry professionals. My internship gave me practical skills in an environment I wanted to pursue as a career, and this experience helped me secure a graduate job. I believe that Pathways gives you the experience necessary for the difficult graduate job search.
My internship was also a lot of fun! I think the internship not only improves your employability, but is also a great experience of learning and meeting new people. It was exciting, rewarding and genuinely an enjoyable experience.“