Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities

Host organisation: Scottish Government

Project title: Access to Cultural Funding for Scotland’s Science Centres

Project description

Science Centres play an important role in supporting STEM formal and informal learning, stimulating debate and discussion around science issues, promoting science careers and showcasing Scottish research and industry excellence in STEM.

Scottish Government provides grant funding to Scotland’s four Science Centres - Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh (Dynamic Earth) - totalling c.£2.67m which facilitates community and school engagement in science activities. An independent review of this support concluded in April 2026.

The following is one of the conclusions from the Science Centres review: Considering science and innovation as integral parts of Scottish culture could open up new funding avenues. Recognising the cultural value of scientific exploration might align the Science Centres with other cultural institutions eligible for specific grants, although this could also introduce competition for limited cultural funding resources.

Working with colleagues in the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland who lead on public science engagement, the research intern will undertake desk-based research and meet with key stakeholders to understand the factors which prevent Science Centres from accessing cultural funding and to identify ways in which barriers might be removed.

Outputs

The deliverables will be a short internal report and presentation to colleagues in the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser on the findings of the project and any proposed recommendations.

In person/remote/hybrid

Hybrid.

Benefits to the researcher

The researcher will gain an insight into working within government and develop an understanding of policy in relation to public science engagement and science learning. They will experience collaborative working with other internal teams across different policy roles, as well as a range of external stakeholders. This will develop communication skills as well as skills in presenting/communicating insights and findings from the project.

Key relationships

The primary relationships will be with internal stakeholders in Scottish Government including Culture colleagues who are alert to the issues facing the Science Centres. There will also be opportunity to engage with the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland, Professor Calum Semple. External links include the Science Centre CEOs, Creative Scotland, local authorities and other funder organisations. There is also the potential to connect with two other interns (yet to be confirmed) working on a review on Scotland’s science festivals and on developing cultural areas of research interest.

Additional information - please read

All Scottish Government internships must last for 3 months FTE. Interns working in the Scottish Government will need to pass the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). This process takes around six weeks and must be completed before the intern can access Scottish Government systems. Part of this entails verifying that the intern meets the Civil Service Nationality Rules - see the Annex C flowchart to check eligibility for non-reserved posts. By applying for this internship, you are affirming that you have understood these requirements and expect to be able to pass BPSS.

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Museum and Gallery Studies; Museum Policy & Management; Cultural Geography; Heritage Management; Policy, Arts Management and Creative Industries; Information and Knowledge Management; Cultural History; History of Science/Medicine/Technology.

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base

• Essential: Information Seeking.
• Desirable: Subject knowledge.

A2. Cognitive Abilities

• Essential: Analysing.

B1. Personal qualities

• Essential: Enthusiasm; Self-confidence.

B2. Self management

• Essential: Preparation and prioritisation.

C2. Research management

• Desirable: Project planning and delivery.

D1. Working with others

• Essential: Team working; Collaboration.

D3. Engagement & impact

• Desirable: Policy.

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First published: 28 September 2026