Internships summer 2024

Introduction

On this page, you can read students' reflections on the the Public and Community Engagement internships they did in summer 2024. This programme is funded by the Warwick Institute of Engagement but it would not happen without the work of the internship providers; we are hugely grateful to all of the organisations who hosted the interns in 2024, for their efforts to design valuable work experience for our students.

Click through the tabs below to learn more about the internships.

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Joss Wozencroft and Ju-Eun Kang at Culture Coventry Trust

Learning and Engagement Assistants at Culture Coventry Trust

Joss Wozencroft and Ju-Eun Kang

Working with the Learning and Engagement team across the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry Transport Museum and Lunt Roman Fort, Ju-Eun and Joss supported with the development and delivery of the summer activities for families.

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Evaluation of my time with the Culture Coventry Trust and WIE

Joss Wozencroft

The Herbert Art Gallery

Whilst at the Herbert Art Gallery my time was split between two roles.

The first, overseeing the 'Jurassic Playground' Early Years Exhibition, saw both adults and children engaging with the space in continually innovative and creative ways. As the walls became increasingly colourful, (filled by children standing on their toes to find a spot to write their names or draw a smiley face) and the space changed and evolved with time it became increasingly clear that I would be learning alongside the children who were visiting.

I would run the exhibition two days a week for the course of the internship, and each week felt like a new lesson in creativity and thinking outside of the box. From finding new ways to entertain different groups of children (often highly varying in age, interest, and energy levels) to watching as toys and props were transformed from one thing to another my days in the early years exhibit always provided me with something new to engage with and witness.

Parents and guardians frequently commented on how enjoyable the space was for children of all ages and gathering and engaging with their feedback on a variety of issues was a vital part of the facilitation process, enabling me to improve my sessions as time went on.

My second role, facilitating a variety of different craft sessions, provided a different equally enjoyable experience. From dinosaur junk-modelling to tie-dying tote bags the craft sessions were always a great (if messy) time. On these days leadership and confident public speaking were vital. Children equipped with spray bottles of dye can cause havoc without some gentle guidance and finding the balance between enabling fun and providing direction to avoid chaos was a quick and important learning curve. Engaging with children and guardians during craft activities was always massively rewarding. In both providing me with an opportunity to get creative and enabling others to explore their artistic side with materials they may never have gotten the opportunity to use.

Overall, working at the Herbert was a massively enjoyable experience. It was packed with variety and no two days felt the same. The work itself was fulfilling and interesting, and the work environment was equally positive, with the staff being overwhelmingly helpful and welcoming.

The Coventry Transport Museum

My time at the Coventry Transport Museum can be broadly charecterised by three things: variety, problem solving, and reflection.

My weekly role at the CTM was the running of the 'Mini Museum Engineers' day every Wednesday. Initially somewhat daunting, I quickly became comfortable with the responsibility of creating as well as just facilitating the day's activities. Provided with a wealth of resources I was given the task to simply let my imagination run wild and create a variety of different open play spaces and activities that could entertain and educate the varied groups of children that would visit the museum that day. Self-awareness and reflection would be crucial as the summer continued. Reflecting on what went well last week, how I could improve the space, and how I could provide a better experience for those visiting pushed me to gather feedback from colleagues and visitors and engage in self-reflection to ensure my sessions were the best they could be. Whether it was making cars out of milk crates, structures out of pipes, or marble runs out of cardboard tubes and gutters, each week brought on a new challenge and a new opportunity to develop.

Outside of this role I ventured into other activities such as the ‘MiC Labs’ program, an insight into coding and robotics aimed at early- and mid- age teenagers, and on public outreach events like ‘PlayHEM’ at the Brinklow festival. Having such a variety of opportunities available was both exciting and enjoyable, providing a chance for me to engage with new people and new challenges in fun ways.

Whilst at the CTM I also led the redevelopment of a resource to be used in the museum under the guidance of more senior members of staff. Several considerations had to be made throughout the process; namely, ensuring the content was both appropriate for the age-range it was intended to be utilised by, that it would engage the user’s with the museum, and, above all else, that it was fun and would retain the user’s attention throughout the museum. Whilst working on the project I was allowed significant control and freedom whilst being provided with support and feedback when needed, enabling me to develop critical thinking, self-evaluation, and communication skills independently without feeling overwhelmed at any point.

Just as with my time at the Herbert, the CTM was a great work environment populated by great people that provided interesting and enriching work for me.

Takeaway Skills

Working for the Coventry Culture Trust over the summer has afforded me several opportunities to develop in a number of ways. The opportunity to work in such a creative way, in such a variety of contexts, and with such a variety of people is invaluable and one that should not be overlooked or underestimated.

If I was to identify five of the key skills that I will be carrying with me into my future studies and work, they would be:

1. Leadership and communication

2. Patience and empathy

3. Problem solving and critical thinking

4. Confidence

5. Self-awareness and self-evaluation

Kameyca Exantus at Together for Change

Creative Community Projects Assistant at Saints, Nuneaton with the charity Together for Change

Kameyca Exantus

Kameyca's role was primarily focused around supporting the creation and delivery of projects for children and young people at saints over the summer, particularly involving music, media and art.

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Ida Slavina at Coventry City Council

Public Involvement Assistant at Health Determinants Research Collaboration, Coventry City Council

Ida Slavina

Ida's internship was spent supporting the development of a new Public Involvement Advisory Group, ensuring the voices of local people are heard and contribute to the research into reducing health inequalities and improving the health of Coventry residents.

Ewurajoa Steele-Dadzie at Warwick Arts Centre

Audience Development Assistant at Warwick Arts Centre

Ewurajoa Steele-Dadzie

The Warwick Arts Centre creative learning programme aims to bring people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds together through creativity and build a sense of belonging in its spaces. During the internship, Ewurajoa contributed to the delivery of creative outreach workshops as well as planning, research and evaluation.

Lily Williams in the Regional Strategy and Partnerships team

Community Engagement Assistant, Regional Strategy and Partnerships team

Lily Williams

The Community Engagement team focuses on building relationships with our close neighbours around campus and working with local stakeholders where our students and staff make their homes, to make lasting, positive impacts on people and communities across Coventry and Warwickshire. Lily's role had a particular focus on engaging young people and ensuring their voices are heard.

Eleanor Harrison and Rachel Hayes at Warwick Institute of Engagement

Digital Engagement Curators at Warwick Institute of Engagement

Eleanor Harrison and Rachel Hayes

Eleanor and Rachel experienced many aspects of public engagement during their internships, but were primarily focused on developing our 'Resonate at Home' offering of digital engagement - a new space on the Resonate webpages dedicated to access-at-home activities related to Warwick research.

Click the arrow below to listen to Rachel and Eleanor discussing their time at WIE.

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Rachel Hayes (Left) and Eleanor Harrison (Right) sitting behind a desk with microphones in front of them

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