Host organisation: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Project title: Opening up The Art Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Project description

The Library at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh houses an art collection of approximately 20,000 original works. To date, around half of the collection has been listed and so there is still work to do to fully understand the collection and to make it available to researchers and the general public.

The aim of the project is to investigate ways to raise awareness of the collection among a new user community or communities. This will involve carrying out a literature review to identify ways in which other cultural heritage institutions have improved the accessibility of their collections and considering the language that is used to describe the artworks. Depending on the approach that is taken it could also include cataloguing and / or digitisation of artworks and developing content in the RBGE website and / or Digital Asset Management (DAM) system.

There will be scope for the intern to decide on how they want to approach the project. For example, they might choose to catalogue a specific collection of works with the aim of facilitating access to a particular user community, considering aspects such as keywords, etc. Alternatively, they could choose a particular user community, e.g. schoolchildren, refugees, people with visual impairments, etc, and develop resources that make the collection more accessible to that group or groups.

Outputs
The key output for the project will be a brief report that outlines what has been done, the results of the literature review and makes recommendations on ways to increase engagement of user communities with the art collection at the RBGE. In addition, the intern would be expected to produce at least 1 blog post related to the project and to deliver a seminar for an audience of RBGE staff and students.
Location
The internship will either be in-person or hybrid, i.e. a mixture of in-person time at RBGE and remote working.
There will be an expectation that the intern will spend a significant amount of time becoming familiar with the art collection which will require them to spend time on-site at RBGE.
Benefits to the researcher

The key benefit for the intern will be the opportunity to work with an internationally important collection in a cultural heritage institution. This will include opportunities to meet and learn from staff across RBGE and our wider network which includes other national collections, independent research organisations and others.

In addition, by tailoring the project to their interests, they will have an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge in particular areas, e.g. cataloguing, digitisation, digital asset management, audience engagement, report writing, etc.

The project will also provide the student with insights into the opportunities and challenges of working within the public sector.

Key relationships

The researcher will be based in the RBGE Library during the internship. The Library, along with the Herbarium, forms the Preserved Collections section of the Science Division giving the student the opportunity to work with curators, researchers and British and international PhD students.

In addition, the researcher will be able to engage with staff across RBGE including those in Education, Public Engagement and Marketing and Communications.

During the internship the researcher will also have the opportunity to attend and/or participate in meetings, seminars and other events taking place at RBGE.

Timescale

Flexible

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Creative Writing; Design; Visual Arts; Curating; Museum and Gallery Studies; Museum Policy & Management; Heritage Management; Art History; Policy, Arts Management and Creative Industries; Information and Knowledge Management; Archives; Information Science and Retrieval; Library Studies; Cultural History; Imperial/Colonial History; History of Science/Medicine/Technology; Scottish Studies.

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base
  • Essential: Research methods – theoretical knowledge; Research methods – Practical application; Information seeking.
  • Desirable: Subject Knowledge; Information literacy and management; Languages; Academic literacy and numeracy.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
  • Essential: Critical thinking; Evaluating.
  • Desirable: Analysing; Synthesising; Problem Solving.
A3. Creativity
  • Essential: Inquiring minds.
  • Desirable: Intellectual insight; Innovation.
B1. Personal qualities
  • Essential: Enthusiasm; Perseverance; Integrity; Self-confidence; Self-reflection.
  • Desirable: Responsibility.
B2. Self management
  • Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management; Responsiveness to change; Work-life balance.
B3. Professional & career development
  • Desirable: Continuing professional development; Responsiveness to opportunities; Networking.
C1. Professional conduct
  • Essential: Appropriate practice.
  • Desirable: Health and Safety; Ethics, principles and sustainability; Legal requirements; IPR and copyright; Attribution and co-authorship; Respect and confidentiality.
C2. Research management
  • Essential:  Project planning and delivery.
  • Desirable: Research Strategy; Risk management.
D1. Working with others
  • Essential: Collegiality; Team working; Collaboration; Equality and diversity.
D2. Communication & dissemination
  • Essential: Communication methods
  • Desirable: Communication media; Publication.
D3. Engagement & impact
  • Desirable: Public engagement.

First published: 9 October 2025

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