Micro-internship: Adya Jalan, MSc Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology


Micro-internship student Adya shares her experience conducting and analysing research for us on employability and placement opportunities in place for heritage courses at universities in the UK.





In December 2021, I was given the wonderful opportunity to undertake a 5-day intensive micro-internship at Culture Syndicates as a Researcher.


I am currently pursuing an MSc in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology. Prior to this I completed a BA in History of Art at Goldsmiths University, London. I have focussed my research on museums studies, material culture, migration, decolonising and diversity within the Arts and Heritage Sector. For my undergraduate dissertation I researched on how community engagement and diversity within museum staff can help create greater inclusivity and decolonial activity in museums.


As the heritage sector is changing, there is a big issue around diversity and lack of paid heritage opportunities for younger generation. This placement at Culture Syndicates CIC allowed me to use my research skills to make an impact by creating a research report using methods like data collating. The research project aimed to understand placement and employability provisions for students in heritage and museum-focused undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The results of this project will hopefully enable Cultural Syndicates to establish collaborative partnerships and approaches with universities to ensure appropriate opportunities for emerging heritage professionals and support the viability of the cultural sector. So, I spent the week researching universities in South of UK and creating a comprehensive spreadsheet of career opportunities and placements offered as well as high lighting any weaknesses or potential for partnership.


During the short course of 5 days, I gained an enormous amount of experience and essential skills that will benefit me in the future. Through meticulous data collection from university websites, I was able to further develop my research and MS Office skills. This will help me conduct efficient research for any future academic or professional projects. A short timeframe ensured that I would gain time-management skills. I was able to create a detailed spreadsheet along with a summary document and present it to team-members all within a span of 5 days. Overall, I gained confidence and developed skills like teamwork, analytical and presentation.


On the other hand, I had the privilege to work with a very welcoming and friendly team. I instantly felt like we were a part of a community even though we were not working together physically. I enjoyed interacting with my colleagues and it enabled me to create new networks within the heritage field. Through my research and interaction with fellow colleagues, I gained cultural and commercial awareness.


Contributing to Culture Syndicates’ focus on collaborative partnerships with universities to increase employability, workforce diversity and training opportunities gave me valuable experience and skills to help start a career in social enterprises or Art & Culture Consultancies, all while creating an impact. In the future, I hope to work in the wider cultural sector in various areas such as sustainable heritage projects, museum curation, community projects and diversity.


Adya Jalan

MSc Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology

University of Oxford

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