As Midlands Art Papers Research Scholar, I am keen to get involved with all aspects of this exciting scheme!
The College of Arts and Law Undergraduate Research Scholarship Scheme have provided an enrichment programme of events and sessions aimed at supporting the scholars throughout their summer projects, as well as preparing them for further academic study.
Having attended all three of the June sessions, I have found them engaging, interesting and helpful, as well as providing the opportunity to meet other scholars and learn about their projects.
Making the Most of Your UGRS Experience – This session was held by UOB’s Careers Network and allowed scholars to review their current skills, what they were good at, as well as what they need to work on in order for their projects to be a success. The session helped me particularly to engage with what challenges I might face and how to overcome them, through the range of stimulating activities provided. We were also given useful resources for monitoring and reflecting on our progress throughout the 5 weeks. The session taught me that being able to review my skills will be invaluable not only during the scholarship but in any professional work I undertake in the future.
An Introduction to Archives – Staff at the Cadbury Research Library were kind enough to give scholars a tour of their special collections, held in the basement of the Muirhead Tower. We were shown how to use the library and its reading rooms, as well as going behind the scenes to see the storage rooms and the conservation room. It was fascinating to be shown the inner workings of a special collections library, especially one with such state-of-the-art facilities! Staff also answered queries scholars had about archival research and I was shown how to use the national archives website to find relevant archives for my research. This session was not only useful for my scholarship project but for third year dissertation research and potential postgraduate study.
Working in a Digital World – This session was great for developing my skills in blogging and using social media, which will be invaluable when running the MAP twitter account. We were taught about copyright issues and the advantages of using digital content to share research. We were also shown how to use analytics to track social media successes and points for improvement. I will now confidently be able to disseminate my ideas and academic research digitally.
These workshops have all provided me with useful skills that can be applied not only during my research scholarship but also in my academic and future professional life. I look forward to attending more over the rest of the summer!