Collections Placements Student Survey
Overall response
A Collections Placement Survey was sent out to the
undergraduate students of each of the four Colleges as well as to
former [within the past three years] and current Collections
Placement students. The Survey was live from 04/12/2014 for two
weeks.
We received 629 responses. From the 629 respondents of the
Collections Placements Survey, the majority were 1st year Arts
students who had never undertaken an internship/placement
with Collections.
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Collections Placements Student Survey
Respondents who have completed a Collections
internship/placement [39 respondents]
For those respondents who did complete an internship/placement ,
31.54% undertook it with Archives, 25.64% with The Hunterian and
12.82% with Special Collections. They heard about the opportunity
mainly through Club21 [66.67%], followed by a Lecturer [35.09%].
The majority chose to undertake an internship/placement for work
experience [82.05%] and their CV [61.54%], rather than for any
particular project [43.59%]. The majority agreed [97.44%] that the
application process was simple and took the appropriate amount of
time.
The interns believed that all graduate attributes were touched
upon during their placements, and in order, they considered that
they had developed the following skills:
‘Resourceful & Responsible’ [74.36%]
‘Investigative’ [61.54%]
‘Independent & Critical Thinker’ [58.9%]
‘Confident’ [48.72%]
‘Effective Communicator’ [46.15%]
‘Subject Specialist’ [43.59%]
‘Adaptable’ [38.46%]
‘Reflective Learner’ [25.64%]
‘Experienced Collaborator’ [20.51%]
‘Ethically & Socially Aware’ [12.82%]
The majority [82.05%] believed that the internship had a positive impact on their studies. 92.31% believed that it has enhanced their CVs, while
64.10% see improvement in their transferable skills, 53.85% in gaining relevant work experience and 28.21% as providing them with employer
reference.
Just over half [51.28%] claimed that the internship has not influenced their future plans, whereas 48.72% believe it had in terms of confirming a
career path [72.22%], in their decision to undertake further study [27.78%] and to inform a change of career path [11.11%], with individual
students stating it has increased their options and another stating it had helped them to choose a PhD topic.
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Collections Placements Student Survey
In terms of room for improvement in the placements themselves, eight students said they would like to have had more supervision and
collaboration with staff and other students, and three would have liked more structure in terms of time expectations. Individual students
mentioned that they wanted to have more time on placement (2); have been paid; to have Club21 documentation that was more relevant to
their placement; and more independence on their placement.
Among the most important aspects taken away by the students has included gaining valuable work experience, applying and developing new
skills and knowledge (from research to public engagement) for a particular purpose. They also valued the ability to carry out research in an
authentic environment while gaining an understanding of the heritage sector. Several students commented on the general cultural
enhancement and engagement it provided.
“Valuable experience of applying skills learned on my course in a real life environment. When applying for jobs this was almost more important than the
course itself.”
“Adapting projects from the scholarly to those which are more public facing. Public engagement was a large part of my project and I was surprised by how
much I enjoyed focussing my project on making it accessible to the public.”
“Valuable pre-PG study work experience has helped me to contextualise the theory I’m now learning about in my course.”
Finally the majority [97.44%] said they would recommend doing a
Collections placement/internship, with the final comments
reflecting this stance:
“I did my placement as part of the Museum Studies MSc run by HATTI […].
I have now graduated and secured a one year job in the museum sector,
partially due to skills gained as part of my placement.”
“Placements are excellent opportunities for students to put into practice
what they are learning during their course work. It is the only way to gain
experience of working with objects and documents, and an opportunity to
learn from knowledgeable and experienced staff about the rewards and
difficulties of archive research. It was an invaluable experience and
probably the most significant and enjoyable part of my course.”
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Collections Placements Student Survey
Respondents who are currently undertaking a Collections internship/placement
10 respondents
90% are currently with The Hunterian, and 10% with Archives Services, the majority having heard about the opportunity through Club21 (10%
through another student). All the students chose to undertake it for work experience [100%], followed by their CV [60%], rather than for
University experience [30%] or any particular project [20%]. All students agreed [100%] that the application process was simple and took the
appropriate amount of time, and 100% are satisfied with the quality.
The interns believe that all graduate attributes can be covered
through their placements, and in order, they considered that the
following skills are being developed:
‘Effective Communicator’ [90%]
‘Adaptable’ [90%]
‘Confident’ [80%]
‘Resourceful & Responsible’ [70%]
‘Independent & Critical Thinker’ [60%]
‘Investigative’ [50%]
‘Experienced Collaborator’ [60%]
‘Reflective Learner’ [50%]
‘Subject Specialist’ [30%]
‘Ethically & Socially Aware’ [20%]
In terms of helping with their future employment, 90% thought the
internship would improve their transferable skills, and 70% agreed
that CV writing, employer reference and relevant work experience
would also be boosted. Relevant work experience and transferable
skills were again believed to be developed in terms of
employability. Students believe one of the most important skills
that are developed is in the area of engagement (communicating,
presentation skills, and public speaking), building confidence and
their organisational skills.
There were no improvements suggested apart from requesting
more responsibilities, and all students would recommend doing a
Collections placement.
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Collections Placements Student Survey
Respondents who have not yet undertaken a Collections internship/placement
467 respondents
The majority [73.88%] have considered doing a general
placement/internship, while only 26.12% have never considered it.
The majority of students said that their study load [60.60%] would
prevent them from undertaking a voluntary internship/placement,
followed by the fact it was unpaid [48.3%] as a number of students
mentioned they also have paid employment commitments, the
application process [26.55%] and the fact it was non-credit bearing.
Other factors cited by individual students were they just didn’t
know about the opportunities; the location; there are too few
places to number of applicants; not relevant to studies, and a
perceived lack of experience.
The majority of students have never accessed the University’s Collections [31.67%]. Although the majority were not aware of Collections
placement offers [68.09%], 85.22% said that they would be interested in taking up a Collections internship/placement, but also stated they
were not aware of what exactly would be involved.
Aspects that came out were those of diversity and equality [‘these placements favour students from wealthy backgrounds who can (literally)
afford the time’, ‘I am an international/Erasmus student’], appropriateness or relevancy to degree subject or career.
They would choose to do an internship/placement with Collections primarily for work experience [85.65%], followed by CV [63.60%],
University experience [53.75%], a particular project [28.27%], and credits [14.13%]. The majority emphasised they would do it out of interest,
with only one being aware of skills development.
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Collections Placements Student Survey
The resounding majority [93.36%] said that these Collections
placements should be offered by the university, and among their
reasons for this were:
“It would be a great opportunity for students studying disciplines
relating to the collections to gain hands on experience with some of the
content they deal with in their course and to gain wider work
experience to further their career and academic prospects.”
“Students, while at university, should have the opportunity to pursue
their academic interests, whether these are directly related to their
chosen field of study or not, in addition to developing attributes greatly
appreciated by employers.”
“I feel the University, as a member of the Russell Group, should be
leading the way in all areas and setting an example.”
“They will be directly relevant for many courses and will contain transferable skills. However, many students have part time jobs alongside studying
which means that they might not have time to be able to undertake a separate placement. The placement would therefore carry a risk that only those
who can afford to do them would receive the benefits.”
“It would offer an opportunity rarely available elsewhere.”
“This would allow opportunity for students to gain experience in a field
that they may have not considered applicable to their course.”
“Makes sense to utilise the resources we have to provide as many
educational opportunities for students.”
“Unique experience that you can’t get outside of Glasgow University.”
“A chance for undergraduates to potentially become involved in future
areas of study.”
“It’s a great opportunity to engage with the University on some of its
most interesting projects.”
“It is a unique opportunity for students to get involved and feel part of
the university.”
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