Working with university placement students

Our first three placements were with Bath Spa University and purely online. They came about during the pandemic when all the onsite placements for students had to be cancelled. The university contacted us to see if any remote placements were possible.

We took on three students, hastily writing briefs, but it was done without much preparation.

The students all completed their assignments – on best practice for virtual exhibitions, podcasting and social media strategy. They all reported that they had enjoyed their placements, but it was a learning curve for us. The next three placements were much more carefully planned and managed.

• To involve young people in the work of Wessex Museums and help them acquire new skills and experience for their CV.
• To have an extra person who could take some pressure off the team by completing defined tasks.
• To benefit from hearing the opinions of young people and seeing things from their perspective.
• To build a solid and lasting relationship with the universities.

Both Bath Spa University and the University of York provide set placements as part of their MA courses. They are funded by the universities, so there is no cost to Wessex Museums. Students work directly for Wessex Museums but are also supported by a university rep.

Bath Spa University
Course: MA in Arts or Heritage Management
Timespan: January to end of May
Placement hours: Up to 60 days total (approx. three days per week)

University of York – Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past
Course: MA in Public History
Timespan: January to end of March
Placement hours: 120 hours total (approx. 10 hours per week)

• We discuss amongst our team what projects we have that a student could meaningfully help with.
• We write a brief which gives the benefits for the student and describes the nature of the role, including clearly defined tasks.
• We state who would undertake the day-to-day management of the student.
• The brief is sent to the university who distributes it to their students. Anyone interested puts themselves forward to the university.
• The university matches us to a student. We have a kick-off meeting involving the student and university rep.
• We set up a Trello board which outlines the tasks for the students, as well as deadlines, resources, images, etc. The board becomes the key project management and communications tool.
• We set up weekly meetings with the student to check on progress and how they are feeling about the placement.
• Where there are clear benefits for the students we try to involve them in team meetings, partnership working groups, museum visits and training opportunities.
• A survey is issued at the end of the placement so the student can feed back on the experience.

For Wessex Museums

Thanks to the student placements, three key pieces of work were completed:

• The Thomas Hardy podcast series – Kirsty O’Rourke from the University of York helped us hone the format of the podcasts, organised guests and equipment, drafted scripts then recorded, edited and promoted the podcasts on social media. As we had no previous experience in podcasting, Kirsty completely took the lead on the project.
• The Thomas Hardy online calendar – Rachel Parsons from Bath Spa University learned how to input data onto the Wessex Museums website, liaised with the museums for content, then added all the entries onto the online events calendar. She also helped with general social media and website content. Rachel then went on to help with the admin for the Wessex Museums Conference.
• The Wessex Museums website refresh – Katie Nichols from the University of York was already very experienced with uploading website content. As such, she helped us plan the new structure for our website, and taught us various tricks on digital platforms! She then uploaded a considerable amount of new content and images. She checked the website for accessibility and for glitches before the go-live. Katie also led on setting up the new Google Analytics 4 account for Wessex Museums.

For the students

• All the students learned new skills and had valuable experience in working in the museums sector.
• Because Wessex Museums is a partnership, the students were able to network with multiple individual museums rather than just one organisation.
• We were able to extend the Thomas Hardy placements to paid freelance contracts.
• Kirsty O’Rourke went on to gain a job as Public Engagement Assistant at the History of Parliament, where podcasting was a skill they were particularly looking for.
• Katie Nichols continued working with us as a volunteer, and benefitted from attending a one-day training workshop on video skills run by the Arts Council Tech Champions.
• We have ongoing relationships with the students and are here to give advice wherever possible with their career development.

• Always write a detailed brief beforehand. It helps give the potential students an idea of what will be expected (hopefully enticing them to apply). It also gives a framework for you to work from.
• There should be clear tasks with desired outputs or outcomes, ie, not just ‘helping with social media’.
• Have a start-up meeting with the student and university representative. This helps create a good working relationship, and the university knows what has been agreed from the start.
• Create a Trello board or similar project management tool – it was a major breakthrough when we started doing this. It not only lists the tasks to be done, but also gives a clear record of what has been achieved by the end of the placement.
• Organise weekly progress meetings with the student (and ad hoc meetings as necessary). Don’t just talk about what has or hasn’t been done, but also how they are feeling about the work. Make it clear you are there to help if they are feeling bogged down.
• Don’t use museums jargon and acronyms without explaining what it means, for example, ACE, NPO.
• Don’t presume the students will automatically be able to do what you’re asking (studying a subject can be different from actually doing it). I found in some cases that the students didn’t want to admit they weren’t sure and then struggled with the task. By using the Trello board, you can see the progress they are making and intervene if they aren’t meeting their deadlines. Often, it’s a just a simple block that needed more explanation.
• Conversely, let the students use their own initiative and experience wherever possible – we can learn lots from them.
• Spare some time to mentor, support and encourage them. By building rapport and empathy, you can create a very positive working experience for them.
• Try to involve the student in team meetings and museum visits whenever possible. It’s really important with remote placements to do all you can to integrate the student into the team, make them feel valued, and add to their experience.
• Don’t be afraid to go back to the university if any aspects of the placement aren’t working out. They know their students better than we do and can deal with any welfare issues.

“Weekly meetings with Cathy made me feel very supported with my work. The whole team was incredible to work with. Never have I felt more appreciated in a job and Cathy and Harriet were very understanding about time constraints. They continually kept in contact with me about whether I was taking on too much or needed more to do and made me feel very comfortable with reaching out and asking for help. Without this placement, I would not have hit the ‘essential criteria’ for my new job in Public Engagement at the History of Parliament.”

Kirsty O’Rourke, University of York

“I loved my time at Wessex, Cathy was very supportive as was the rest of the team… I’ve gained experience in WordPress, Hootsuite, Trello and much more.”

Rachel Parsons, Bath Spa University

“Wessex Museums provided me an amazing opportunity to network and grow my skills as a heritage sector worker. The time spent with them is extremely valuable towards growing my future inside the sector.”

Katie Nichols, University of York

Kristina Broughton

CEO Wessex Museums

kristina.broughton@wessexmuseums.org.uk