The volunteers at the museum make the work and projects we do achievable.
From supporting educational groups, adding to the visitor experience, and assisting with collections – they make continuing The Argylls story possible. Additionally, the student placements that the museum supports throughout the year do incredible work. These placements aim to give the students hand on experience in the field they are studying, and some students do this in addition to their studies.
This month, we take a look at the fantastic work of the two students we supported this year, who were here not for academic accreditation but for the sole purpose to gain an insight to the sector. Coming from Glasgow Caledonia University, Roisin completed a placement which the museum runs annually which looks at evaluation and how the museum can act on feedback. Ellie, a student from the University of Stirling, gained experience as an archival assistant through the award nominated Stirling Cares programme, an initiative supported by Santander UK Bank.
Photo credit: The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum
Roisin, an undergraduate in Social Studies, started with the museum in November 2023 and dedicated over 20 days with us over the course of 8 months as part of an Evaluation Placement. Roisin was asked to create, collate and report back on museum feedback. Her placement was broken into two sections. The first section, she focused on visitor demographics, and where they were visiting from. Whereas, in the second section she collected data on why visitors to Stirling Castle were deciding not to visit the museum. (For note, The Argylls Museum is based within Stirling Castle, and castle visitors are free to enter).
Photo credit: The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum
When asked about her time in the museum, Roisin stated, “I found this placement to be extremely beneficial as I had been considering the heritage sector as a career options, this placement helped me better understand the field, and the roles with in the museums team. I feel I have benefited from this in developing skills including networking, data collection and communication that will help me in my career and later life.”
Ellie, a current undergraduate in History, started with the museum in January 2024 and assisted with making digital records of archival lists to support research and tidying existing newspaper collections. Ellie collated a Palestine/Cyprus newspaper cuttings folder for the curator which means these articles are now being stored correctly. She then went on to make a physical and digital list of the Argylls mentioned in these articles – again, making research queries easier.
Photo credit: The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum
After finishing her placement, Ellie was back in touch with the museum to express her thanks and also her enthusiasm to do more work in the future.
We will continue to offer both these placements in the future, providing students not only with hands-on experience and skill development but also the chance to explore whether they would like to pursue a career in this sector. Thank you to both Roisin and Ellie – we can’t wait to see how your development in the future.
If you attend any of these universities, keep an eye on opportunities we have with them. Additionally, if you work for a tertiary educational institution and would be interested in establishing in a placement, get in touch.
Written by Caitlin Meldrum, Audience and Communications Officer