Summer Scholar Programme a worthwhile opportunity—everybody wins
Professor Charlotte Macdonald says every year a round of projects for the Summer Research scholarships are set, which offer students a chance to work with globally recognised researchers. Some projects are funded by the university, others through partnerships with external organisations.
“While the students gain experience and research skills, the funding organisation and the university’s research programme also benefits from the contribution the Summer Scholars make. Everybody wins.”
Professor Macdonald says this year’s scholars had opportunities for original discoveries. Students worked at The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Auckland Museum, and at VUW on projects connected with her Marsden Project ‘Soldiers of Empire’ (a three-year research project investigating garrison and empire in New Zealand and the wider British Empire during the 1860s).
“Max Nichol was originally going to work on files at Archives New Zealand, but the November Kaikoura earthquake put a spanner in that plan. Fortunately, I was at the National Archives in London at the time and took a sample of War Office documents for imperial soldiers who served in the New Zealand for him to investigate instead.”
Max says the opportunity to work on a new development in the historical literature of New Zealand and the British Empire was a fantastic experience.
“I was impressed with the sheer scale of military bureaucracy in the nineteenth century—the amount of information in the records that I looked at was staggering, and that was just one archival series of many,” Max says.
Josh King worked at the Auckland Museum on ‘Life, Death and Disease in 1860s Wartime Auckland'. Using the collections of the Auckland War Memorial Museum he studied the impact of the New Zealand Wars and the British Army presence on the development of Auckland as a town and a province.
“I never knew just how deeply rooted in early Auckland the British Army was, and how this presence still leaves its mark on the modern city. It made me see Auckland in a completely new light,” Josh says.
Scott Flutey worked at Te Papa on a sub-project of ‘Soldiers of Empire’. Scott’s investigation was ‘War by post and bullet’, where he looked at a large collection of letters and objects relating to the postal service and personal correspondence during the New Zealand Wars.
“I was impressed at how sophisticated and well organised the post was during the New Zealand Wars. While mail from Britain to New Zealand took a few months, mail from Australia took only a few days by ship, and mail from conflict zones in Waikato regularly reached Auckland the day after being sent.”
All three scholars say they have gained a lot from the experience including building relationships and contacts in leading research institutions, learning about the processes for working with objects in different collections and developing research and time management skills.
“I am incredibly grateful to have worked on this scholarship project,” Max says. “I think it is a wonderful opportunity that the university provides, and the experience I have gained will be invaluable in my future career.”
Max, Josh and Scott all recommend the programme to students considering applying for the 2017/18 intake.
Listen to Scott Flutey talk to Radio New Zealand about his experiences.