Host organisation: Historic Environment Scotland
Project title: Visits in History
Project description

This project forms part of the HES Making Sense of Scotland programme of outreach and learning activity which encourages engagement with Scotland’s past from fresh, diverse perspectives.

The two key, tangible, outputs of the project are an HES publication and an exhibition that will travel to Historic Scotland properties.

Through a combination of specific journeys and themes, the project will interrogate the wealth of meaning that travelling through Scotland has meant throughout history. People have travelled around Scotland since earliest times, whether as Viking raiders, Christian missionaries, or itinerant workers. Since tourism took hold in the 18th century, Scotland has been a place of escape and adventure for generations of travellers, some of whom have gone on to publish accounts of their journeys. Now, whether we travel to explore or just to enjoy a relaxing change of scene, we are able to immediately share our experience with the wider world.

We are particularly looking for an intern with the enthusiasm to focus on the theme of migration or on tourism in the 20th and 21st centuries but there is scope to contribute research ideas to the development of the project.

Outputs

We want the researcher to engage with the overall project concept and apply the research undertaken during the internship to developing the content of the publication and exhibition. While HES Archives are a valuable resource for this project, we also want the researcher to explore external sources of information.

Location
We anticipate that the internship will be carried out as a mixture of in-person and remote working. The project is Edinburgh based with relevant national research repositories, such as the HES Archive and Library and the National Library of Scotland, nearby.
Benefits to the researcher

The researcher will gain experience of working within a large heritage organisation that employs a diverse range of staff as well as an understanding of how it delivers its outcomes. They will have access to, and develop a greater understanding, of Scotland’s national record of the historic environment. When contributing to the content development of the publication and exhibition, they will gain an insight into the way in which this material is mediated for public dissemination.

Key relationships

The researcher will primarily work with professionals from within our heritage organisation, specifically architectural historians and publishing specialists though there may be the opportunity to work with outreach and learning staff.

Timescale

Start date (or must start by): Flexible

End date (or must end by): Flexible

Work structure: Flexible

Subject areas

This opportunity would be relevant to the following subject areas:

Architecture; Visual Arts; Curating; Art History; Archives; Economic and Social History; Scottish Studies.

Person specification

A1. Knowledge Base
  • Desirable: Subject Knowledge; Information seeking.
A2. Cognitive Abilities
  • Desirable: Critical thinking; Synthesising.
A3. Creativity
  • Essential: Inquiring minds; Intellectual insight.
B1. Personal qualities
  • Essential: Enthusiasm; Perseverance; Self-reflection; Responsibility.
B2. Self management
  • Essential: Preparation and prioritisation; Commitment to research; Time management.
B3. Professional & career development
  • Desirable: Responsiveness to opportunities.
C2. Research management
  • Desirable:  Project planning and delivery.
D1. Working with others
  • Essential: Collaboration; Equality and diversity.
  • Desirable: Team working.
D2. Communication & dissemination
  • Essential: Communication methods.

First published: 9 October 2025

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