International Museums and Collections Award

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Are you interested in a museum career? Would you like the opportunity to work for a month with diverse cultural collections and gain work experience from museum professionals? If you would like to receive funding to travel to an international partner University to take part in this exciting Universitas 21 initiative, then read on...

This prestigious opportunity is awarded to two students from the University of Birmingham every year who would like to gain vocational experience and useful skills working alongside museum professionals at the University of Melbourne or the University of Lund. The placement will take place over the course of a month in the Summer and may be used to enrich your academic studies as well as gaining professional skills to enhance your CV.

Please note that the application process is for the International Museums and Collections Award overall - although you may state a preferred host, this will be offered after the interview process as successful candidates will be matched with the most relevant site according to their suitability and interests.

For further information, please see the blogs of former recipients Lucy CooperChloe Lund and Emily Milward.  For a taste of the Birmingham experience, see the blogs of this year's return recipients from the University of Melbourne and the University of Lund

Background

One successful candidate from will work for one month on a museum or collection project, hosted by the University of Melbourne or University of Lund.The project undertaken will have set objectives to be completed during the one-month placement. The student will also be exposed to other facets of the cultural collections, through activities such as attendance at meetings, workshops or spending the day with other museums and collections staff from across the university, including curators, collection managers, archivists and conservators in order to get a more comprehensive picture of what their work entails. This broadening experience will also enhance the student’s understanding of the different issues currently facing university collections.

The projects may include (or be a combination of):

  • Conservation/preservation
  • Significance assessment
  • Documentation and cataloguing
  • Research
  • Interpretation
  • Exhibition development

As well as the assigned project and associated tasks, the student may include in their placement a period of self-directed study that engages with an aspect of the host institution’s collections that is of particular interest to them. The student will need to include this area of interest on the application form and it will be negotiated with the host institution. The placement will take place over the course of a month and may be used to enrich your academic studies as well as gaining professional skills to enhance your CV.

You can listen to previous recipients and Director of Culture and Engagement Clare Mullett discuss the award. 

Elibility and how to apply

To apply, you must be a student within the College of Arts and Law - both undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible. The University of Birmingham International Office and the College of Arts and Law are jointly funding this award to contribute to travel costs and accommodation in Melbourne or Lund. Accommodation will be sourced and booked provisionally for the student. Details are available on request. 

For more information and details on the application process, please see here.