Research Assistant – South West Heritage Trust

researchsouthwest

What were your main duties and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My main responsibilities as a intern with the South West Heritage Trust were cataloguing material dating from the First World War, for a HLF-funded scheme called the ‘Devon Remembers Heritage Project’. My role involved organising and attending meetings with local heritage centres across the county, as well as compiling the results of volunteer research groups into accessible formats such as Excel or Word.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

My biggest achievement during the internship was securing an additional three months of employment with the company, which commenced immediately after the initial contract was due to finish. I was really pleased to see that my work and contribution to the company had been so highly valued and a contract extension will allow me to become more heavily involved in various aspects of the Devon Remembers project.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I saved my line manager a great deal of time searching through archive collections and driving around the county to visit other local archives. I was able to compile large amounts of information into a usable form for Katherine and the company’s archivists.

Did you encounter any problems during the course of your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Whilst not directly related to the content of my work, the most major problem in my internship was the hour-long commute by car. I overcame this by downloading audio books to listen to whilst driving and it made the travelling much more bearable.

“Ciaran is an excellent member of the team and we have offered him further employment as a result of his internship. His skills, attitude and aptitude for learning all make him an asset to the organisation” – Devon Remembers Heritage Project Officer