The Turing Scheme

Through this one-month scheme in in the Humanities Institute at University College Dublin, students will gain work experience in academic administration and events organisation in the broad field of Humanities. Additionally, if language skills permit, there will be an option to gain teaching experience in the German department of UCD.

The Humanities Institute at UCD focuses on scholarship in the humanities and stimulates new interdisciplinary areas of research of international distinction.

The Institute promotes the international visibility and distinctiveness of interdisciplinary research in the humanities at UCD by acting as a laboratory for the study of culture and the human experience. It complements research undertaken within related UCD Schools and research institutes while concurrently providing a neutral space for the delivery of interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research of key societal challenges. The institute acts as a driving force for knowledge creation and transfer within UCD and in the context of the humanities in Ireland and Europe.

For more information about the Humanities Institute at UCD, see here: Humanities Institute || UCD Humanities Institute (HI)

This opportunity is open to taught and research students.

There are no specific language requirements, but priority will be given to students with some knowledge of German.

Start date: April 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to Professor Godela Weiss-Sussex (godela.weiss-sussex@sas.ac.uk)

This is a great opportunity for a student to gain work experience through a one-month placement in Philadelphia. The student will work to enhance and create new Name Authority records in the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts. This will involve research in Philadelphia archives (e.g. the Rosenbach and/or Temple’s bookseller catalogue collection), together with training in advanced use of the database, provenance history, authority records and linked data.
Learners will have the opportunity to work with unique collections of pre-modern manuscripts and bookseller catalogues in Philadelphia – key resources for book historians. They will learn about sophisticated databases, name authorities, and linked data, building skills in digital humanities. They will expand their networks, with opportunities to work closely with SIMS staff and attend research events. The work they do will be tailored to their research interests and may therefore inform their theses.

By the end of the placement students will:
•    Be familiar with major resources for manuscript studies and provenance history in Philadelphia.
•    Be advanced editors of the Schoenberg Database.
•    Understand the uses of name authority records and linked data for the study of book history.
•    Have expanded their personal research networks.

This partnership builds on our current relationships with colleagues at UPenn. The Cultivate MSS project (at IES) works in partnership with the Schoenberg Database to improve its content and explore how it can be used to generate new research questions at the frontier of manuscript studies. The proposed partnership draws on the exceptional resources of SIMS and other research collections in Philadelphia. It has the potential to generate knowledge that will be of use to students and staff at both partner institutions, laying foundations for future collaborations around manuscript studies and provenance research. SIMS is used to hosting both international fellows and graduate student interns. This partnership will add significant value and opportunity to both PGT (MA in Book History) and PGR students (training).

This opportunity is open to taught and research students.

There are no specific language requirements, but some understanding of modern languages, such as Latin, Greek, Arabic or Hebrew would be useful.

Start date: June 2024
Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to Dr Laura Cleaver (laura.cleaver@sas.ac.uk) or Professor Clare Lees (clare.lees@sas.ac.uk)

At the University of Innsbruck, Students will be able to take part in block programmes of postgraduate training, including (where appropriate) doctoral workshops. They will be taught or mentored by experts in their field; they will be acquainted with and profit from different perspectives on their work, arising from the international dimension of the placement.

Students will gain new perspectives on their fields of enquiry, both through taking part in formal teaching arrangements and through informal exchanges. They will expand their abilities to discuss their work in an international and multilingual context.

The academic programme on offer includes a limited range of English-language options. Innsbruck University houses one of the leading research units on Migration Studies. The institution has an interdisciplinary focus; it also provides a wide range of opportunities to take part in courses within German & Austrian Studies.

This opportunity is open to taught and research students.

No specific language requirements. For certain programmes, fluency in German will be necessary.

Start date: May 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information contact: Professor Godela Weiss Sussex (Godela.weiss-sussex@sas.ac.uk)

This is an opportunity for 2 students to benefit from a large range of modules related to human rights concerns. PhD students can also benefit from a range of supervisory expertise. These will depend on the modules taken but all options are of a high standard and internationally excellent.

SAS has worked with Padua Human Rights Centre since 2015. We have collaborated on numerous successful international conferences and workshops and journal publications.

This opportunity is open to taught and research students.

No language requirements

Start date: April 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to Professor Damien Short
(Damien.short@sas.ac.uk)

This is an opportunity for one student to gain experience working in Rome’s Museum of Civilizations. The Museum recently acquired a part of the collection of the former Colonial Museum, founded in the 1920s. The collection, that is at present housed in the Museum’s storerooms, is currently in the process of being catalogued. It is the intention of the Museum of Civilizations that, in the next few years, the collection will be made available for public viewing. The material will be reorganized according to decolonial criteria that provide a radical critique of the Colonial Museum of which it was originally part. The student will gain experience of the cataloguing process and the general working of the Museum.

More information about the Museo della Civiltà is available here: https://museocivilta.beniculturali.it/

This opportunity is open to taught and research students.

Fluency in Italian is desirable.

Start date: May 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to: Professor Charles Burdett (charles.burdett@sas.ac.uk)

The British School at Athens (BSA) is one of the one of the UK’s largest overseas humanities research institutes. It leads and facilitates research of international excellence in all disciplines pertaining to Greek lands, from fine art to archaeology and archaeometry and in all periods to modern times. The BSA is also host to a rich programme of lectures and public events in Athens and its residential community comprises researchers, academics and practitioners from across the UK, Greece and further afield at a variety of career stages and disciplines. Its position near the heart of Athens offers an ideal vantage point to engage with the rich culture and history of this metropolis. For more information on the BSA, see: https://www.bsa.ac.uk/

This placement will work closely with and be mentored by staff from the BSA Library and Archive as well as other academic staff working on specific research projects (including historians, archaeologists and specialists). They will have the opportunity to engage with several ongoing research projects: e.g., records of early modern women travelers in Greece as seen through the BSA Archive, or investigating mobility in the ancient or premodern world. Both will result in exhibitions and public dissemination activities, to which the student may have the opportunity to contribute depending on the timing of the placement.
The successful applicant will develop a wide range of skills broadly related to the humanities and social sciences, including: cataloguing, digitising and creating inventories of material; analysing and studying diverse documents and material culture; and working in the digital humanities across a range of data sets. Flexibility will be afforded to work across both ancient and early modern material applicable to a wide range of degrees in the School of Advanced Study.

Start date: May 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to: Dr Emlyn Dodd (emlyn.dodd@sas.ac.uk)

The British School at Rome (BSR) is the largest of the British International Research Institutes. For over 100 years it has nurtured world-class humanities researchers and contemporary artists and formed an intellectual and cultural bridge between Rome, Italy and the UK. It contains a unique multidisciplinary community of researchers, academics and practitioners from the UK, Commonwealth and abroad at a variety of career stages. A lively fine arts community also means that up to seven practicing artists can live and work in residence. The BSR hosts a rich programme of lectures and public events in Rome. Its position near the heart of the eternal city offers an ideal vantage point for the successful candidate to engage with its rich cultural and historical fabric. For more information on the BSR, see: https://bsr.ac.uk/

This placement will be situated within the BSR Research Collections team, working closely and being mentored and supervised by Special Collections, Library and Archive staff. The placement will contribute to ongoing research projects in the Special Collections, including the description, study and preparation of a series of new virtual exhibitions being developed by the BSR and made accessible open access online. Possible topics to which they can contribute include (but are not limited to): the BSR’s Archaeological Archive; Cruickshank collection of photographs (early 19th century); and the Boguet collection of drawings (early 19th century).
The successful applicant will develop a range of skills related to the management, organisation and communication of rare books, archival material and special collections. They will have the opportunity to engage with material found only in the BSR Special Collections, as well as material not normally accessible to the general public. The diverse range of collections available at the BSR allows substantial flexibility to suit a particular student’s interests and research pathway. The placeholder will be resident at the BSR, offering the potential to further expand their own research networks through the rich academic and creative community of the School.

Start date: April 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to: Dr Emlyn Dodd (emlyn.dodd@sas.ac.uk)

Play Action work in disadvantaged communities, focusing on enhancing children’s learning, development and access to education through play. They take an innovative child-centred approach to education and use the power of play to transform the lives of children through their play programmes.
They work with some of the most vulnerable children and communities in the world, supporting children living in extreme poverty and those experiencing danger, displacement, conflict and natural/humanitarian disasters.

Play Action work with children, parents, caregivers, teachers, community leaders and NGOs to highlight the importance of play and enable them to integrate play-based initiatives for enhanced education, health and development outcomes.

The student will be able to fully immerse themselves in a cultural opportunity in East Africa that'll give first-hand work experience in the international development, education and third sector, and create a long term and sustainable legacy of play.

Start date: April 2024

Duration: 4 weeks

For more information, reach out to: Elaine Walters (elaine.walters@sas.ac.uk)