2018 UAM Summer Internship: Introduction

Martin working on the Dentistry Display in ECHA

Every year during the summer, the University of Alberta Museums offers a summer internship for a student currently enrolled in a senior level undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta which is funded in part by the Friends of the University of Alberta Museums. The Student Internship in Museum Innovation was created in 2009 as a way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Friends of the University of Alberta Museums. The internship is to support University of Alberta students who plan to pursue a career in museum practice, study, research, and innovations. This provides an opportunity for students related to object-based learning and museology. The value of this internship is that it allows students to gain experience in many areas of museum practice, such as conservation, collections management, curation, communications, and research.

My name is Martin Bierens and I will be the summer intern at the University of Alberta Museums this year. I have just completed my third year of my bachelors of arts in anthropology, here at the University of Alberta. After I complete my degree I hope to one day continue on to a masters program in museum studies.

I have always been extremely interested in museums. The potential working in a museum was always in the back of my mind, but I never saw it as a legitimate career option until just a few years ago when I began to volunteer and work in museums. Studying anthropology seemed like a logical fit for me and my interests when I started university. I am able to use what I am learning in my degree to further excel towards my goal of working in the museums field. The wide variety of collections and museum standards that the University of Alberta Museums offers experience in will be a great way for me to diversify my knowledge.