National Services Te Paerangi offers internships to recent graduates of museum studies as part of the Museum Graduate Internship Programme (MGIP). The internships are for up to three months to work on a specific project in a small, professionally staffed museum. The MGIP is being launched formally this year, the pilot having been completed and evaluated in 2007.
Two graduates have been offered MGIP internships during 2007–08. One graduate of Museum Studies at Massey University is going to North Otago Museum to catalogue the framed collection items. A graduate of the Museum & Heritage Studies programme at Victoria University will go to the Nelson Provincial Museum to catalogue and condition-report the Knapp ethnological collection. Both graduates will be on their internships for three months.
We invite expressions of interest from museums that have projects to offer interns for the next programme (2008–09). The projects should be up to three months in duration.
For more information, please contact Wallis Barnicoat, Manager Museum Development, on 0508 678 743 or by emailing wallisb@tepapa.govt.nz. Alternatively, talk to the Museum Development Officers when they are in your area.
Aim of the Museum Graduate Internship Programme
MGIP is a national project which has been created to:
- provide smaller museums with trained personnel (the interns) who will bring in new knowledge and complete a specified short-term project at the small museum; and
- provide museum studies graduates with the opportunity to take up practical projects in smaller museums for up to three months.
During the mentorship scheme the intern at the small museum is guided by a mentor, who is a museum professional either based on site, or at a larger museum nearby. The pilot scheme was held at Whanganui Regional Museum and PATAKA, and focuses on collection-related projects.
What we need from you
This is where YOU come in – we need to know what is needed by the sector. Please let us know if you have projects that an intern could work on for a limited time (up to three months) at your museum. We will compile a list of museums that have realistic projects.
The project can be one month or up to three months in duration. The focus might be: researching and curating your stories, designing your displays, managing collections, re-organising your storage areas, or assisting with strategic planning and marketing etc. Additionally, it would be useful if you are able to offer housing options and contributions towards the intern’s stipend, which would help to cut costs (although this is not mandatory).
Are you interested in taking part in this national project and having a mentorship or internship hosted at your museum? National Services Te Paerangi staff will assist you to put your proposal together. Contact us on freephone 0508 678 743 or email wallisb@tepapa.govt.nz
Growing the scheme – internships and secondments
During 2008, we intend to grow the programme from mentorships for graduates, to internships and secondments for skilled professional staff throughout the country. The primary aim is to provide skilled personnel to smaller museums to work on specific projects for a finite period of time.
As an example, we hope that in the near future staff from a large museum (e.g. Te Papa) may be able to take up internships in small museums (e.g. Havelock Museum) either individually or in groups. They might work on re-organising displays, collection storage or collection documentation, or developing a marketing programme (depending on priority needs identified by the museum).