Micro-Internship with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists

Oxford University students are warmly invited to undertake a remote micro-internship with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. This micro-internship will be co-hosted by the Heritage Partnerships Team.


The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is the leading professional body representing archaeologists working in the UK and overseas. CIfA’s aim is for all professional archaeologists to have the skills, integrity and versatility to ensure archaeology brings real benefit to people’s daily lives. We work with employers, universities and training providers, government, trade unions, clients, other sector partners, and other professional bodies to improve professional archaeology through competence and knowledge; recognition and respect; career pathways and prospects; diversity and skills; ethical awareness; value and public benefit.

Our work is divided in four core areas of activity:

  • Training and development - We provide access to training, good practice advice and guidance, and support to strengthen entry routes into the profession
  • Accreditation - We recognise and promote the skills and competence of professional archaeologists
  • Regulation of the profession - Our Code of conduct and Standards and guidance define good, ethical practice in archaeology. They provide the organisation, structures and mechanisms for self-regulation, allowing the profession to take responsibility for the assurance of the quality of our work, monitor it, and hold members to account
  • Networking - We provide an active community of professional archaeologists to support and shape our profession.

This micro-internship is co-hosted by the Heritage Partnerships Team, which is based in The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. The vision for the TORCH Heritage Programme is to enable ambitious and mutually beneficial partnerships that connect Oxford’s world-leading expertise with the UK and international Heritage Sector through three core areas of activity: building partnerships, growing expertise and sharing knowledge. 

CIfA and the Heritage Partnerships Team have been working together to enhance collaboration between Heritage and Academia and to establish career development opportunities for students and early career professionals in the historic environment. 

 

Working alongside the CIfA Professional Development Team and Heritage Partnerships Team of the University of Oxford, this micro-internship will provide insight into the wide range of resources and trainings schemes provided by professional bodies in the UK to support and encourage students or other trainees to consider a career in their respective professions. You will contribute to the creation of a comprehensive list of published resources for early career professionals in the historic environment to be made available on the website of TORCH Heritage Programme. You will evaluate the usability of these resources and your findings will inform the development of CIfA’s Career Offer. Your findings will also provide the basis for a student consultancy project to be held later in the academic year.

 

What you will do:

CIfA wishes to develop and improve on the information and support it provides to students and others seeking a career in the historic environment. As a small professional body with limited resources, we want to ensure that the information and resources we produce are appropriate, useful and engaging for the target audience. We want to identify good examples produced by other professional bodies and gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, from the student perspective. 

  • Working remotely, both independently and as part of a team, you will undertake desk-based research using a range of online resources to identify and map the careers information and resources available to students and early career professionals that aim to build a career in the historic environment or allied professions.
  • Each team member will focus on one of the following core areas: Engineering, Environment and Landscape, Museums, and Built Heritage Conservation. Members assigned to the same area will work in collaboration (remotely).
  • Using information available online, you will review the career offer of these professional bodies by evaluating their accessibility and usability, as well as by providing insights into their strategic ambitions.
  • Summary discussions will require individuals to work together to identify the most popular media and formats, as well as common strengths and weaknesses of the available resources.
  • You will present your findings in team briefings, and in two written formats: You will write a short report to be used by CIfA in the development of their career resources. You will also have the opportunity to reflect on your project and your experience in a blogpost to be published on the TORCH Heritage Programme website.

 

By the end of the micro-internship, you will have gained:

  • Experience in sector-specific surveying of online resources.
  • Insight into the strategic design and evaluation of training and professional development plans.
  • Experience in interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Experience in writing for both a professional and a general audience.
  • Experience in working remotely, independently and as part of a team, with remote supervision.
  • Presentation skills.

 

Candidates will be considered from any subject area, from second-year undergraduate level and above. They should possess good written communication skills, experience of reviewing and summarising information, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. An interest in heritage, the historic environment (broadly defined) and interdisciplinarity is desirable.

 

Further details & how to apply:

Students are asked to provide:

  • A CV
  • A personal statement, explaining both why they are interested in the placement and the organisation, and why they would be well-suited to the post

Week 9 (Monday 15 - Friday 19 March) OR Week 10 (Monday 22 – Friday 26 March)

Students are required to commit to the full micro-internship - as with any professional placement - and any concerns about dates should be raised with the Internship Office in advance of making an application. 


Chartered Institute for Archaeologists

TORCH Heritage Programme Homepage