How one intern helped us begin mapping Black GI units in East Anglia
Earlier this year, we were delighted to welcome our second intern from UCL’s MA/MSc Digital Humanities course, Ivan Lin. During the course of his three week placement with us, Ivan became a valuable member of our team, helping Dr Chamion Caballero, Professor Lucy Bland and Charlotte Marchant explore the feasibility of mapping Black GI units in East Anglia. Below, Ivan shares some reflections on his placement and the value of a Digital Humanities Master’s degree in the cultural/heritage sector.
Interning at The Mixed Museum
Between April and May 2024, I interned at The Mixed Museum as part of the work placement program of the Digital Humanities MA/MSc course at UCL. The project I was assigned to was looking at mapping Black GI units. Specifically, I was brought on to look at how best to map the data the team had already collected. Key to this was considering the sustainability of the mapping platform for the project’s curatorial aims, the ability to host and maintain the map in the long-term, as well as accessibility both for the team (in the process of design and creation) and users.
The peek behind the curtain I was allowed at The Mixed Museum gave me a chance to drive the processes and ideas that inform narrative formation within the curatorial space. From the outset, the project was deeply exciting; it enabled me to think critically and independently about the project goals and how a digital object might fit within and drive these ideas. In the process of working on research, I was also given free rein with some collected data, coding and creating maps to illustrate the various options found. This allowed me to bring in technical knowledge from the course, in order to critically engage with the project. Knowing that my engagement could drive the project down different potential avenues was deeply exciting and made the work even more engaging for me.
Applying UCL’s Digital Humanities degree skills to real world problems
My involvement with the project, while brief, has allowed me to think through many of the ideas I have been contending with: questions about industry, and the value of a Digital Humanities degree in the space of the cultural-heritage sector. The internship with The Mixed Museum has helped me demonstrate how a critical engagement with technology within the curatorial space can improve our attempts at understanding and presenting what might seem to be static points of data.
My time with The Mixed Museum was dynamic and energising, and the team was responsive and helpful in so many ways. Every step of the way, I was met with help when I needed it and my opinions and contributions to the project were valued. This experience was a worthwhile one, especially in how it has helped me translate learnings from my degree into practice. I leave this internship with a toolbox of ideas much fuller than I started, and I am deeply grateful to have had this experience.
Learn more
Connect with Ivan on LinkedIn
Learn about the background to the mapping project that Ivan helped with
Read about the project’s pilot findings in our guest post from researcher Charlotte Marchant
Discover more from our previous interns in this blogpost by Lucy Beston, or reflections by our Wikipedia interns