Category: Okategoriserade (Page 3 of 4)

This is the second part of an interview I did with John, one of our students at the Master Programme in ALM (Archives, Library and Museum Studies). The first part of the interview you can find here.

Besides talking about what the Department of ALM can offer, John and me also talked about life beyond studies. As a student it is important to have a good work-life balance, at the same time as there can be soooo much that one have/want to do and be engaged in. John explains that life of a master student can be summarized as great freedom with great responsibility. “There are maybe three to five scheduled lectures or seminars a week, although it differs depending on different courses in the programme. One has to use the time in a responsible way, setting your own time plan.” John seems to manage that without problems, and he tells me: “I use to sit in the campus library (Karin Boye-biblioteket), where I can feel like I’m in a bubble of my own. I know that there is going to be quiet and easy to focus. But I also like to try out different study environments. Sometimes I sit at campus, other times I go to the main library building, or read in a café.”

I ask him what he thinks about the student services that are offered by the university, such as the student gym Campus 1477, study assistance services or all the different courses, workshops and lectures outside academic studies. Taking a sip of water, John answers that he knows about them but have not tried out so much of this himself. “In exception for the courses in information seeking offered by the library. I have attended that course several times, actually, it’s very useful and you learn how to best use the library resources”

We talk some more about campus Engelska parken. This is the site for the Department of ALM and also where most of our teaching takes place. “Compared to other campus of Uppsala University, Engelska parken is more intriguing and interesting. I especially like Physicum, the building where the old Department of Physics used to be, but the university main hall as well. Both are old but beautiful buildings, on the outside as well as on the inside.” The buildings John refers to are built in the 17^thand 19^thcentury and I ask him how he believes those historic milieus contributes to his studies. “Well, I’m not sure that they effect my studies… But they make me feel…part of something greater, in a way. It feels…authentic. The long history of the university is materialized through those buildings and their surrounding.”

However, old architecture cannot make up for good friends (even if you are found of history) and I ask about social life and activities. John told me earlier that he is from Visby, but came to Uppsala when he was 19 and I wonder how he managed to adjust to a new city, far from family and old friends. He smiles when he explains that “…there is so much to do on the side of your studies while being a student! If you are new in the city, there is easy to meet new people that are in the same situation as yourself, and you can quickly find new friends and nice people to hang out with.” He continues; “I would really recommend to engage in one of the thirteen student nations (social clubs for students with their own estates, businesses, activities, scholarships, and housing opportunities). You can get working experience and learn new skills, beside your academic studies.”

Another thing that John recommends for new students is to join the student association that is connected to your programme of study. For example, at the department, we have Studierådet för ABM, which offers students a way to influence their education but also to arrange social activities like quiz nights. “When I was a student in history we had our own association which I was, and still am, very engaged in. We arranged a welcome party for new students and lots of other fun stuff. We also invited guest lecturers of our own choice, in co-operation with the department.”

Overall, I got the impression that John is content, both with his studies at the Department of ALM and with the university. Maybe a bit too content? I ask him if there is anything he is critical about or thinks should be changed. He gives it some thought, but no, nothing in particular, he says. I just nod, hoping it is an honest answer and that he is not only being polite. At the department, me and my colleagues all try to give our students the best opportunities possible, and hopefully we succeed, I think to myself.

“Be open to new perspectives! For me, the programme was not as I expected, as a matter of fact, it is better!

I finish the interview by asking John about his best advice for the new students of the Master Programme in Digital Humanities. “Be open to new perspectives! For me, the programme was not as I expected, as a matter of fact, it is better! One reason are the courses in programming and databases. Some people don’t appreciate them, they do not perceive it as something that they chose to study or see the relevance of it, but for me they gave new perspectives on information and museum studies.”

Going to a conference or meeting means a lot of things. Listening to presentations, learning new stuff, meeting people, seeing new places, smalltalk…. I can tick all of these things off from from my list of activities this week, thanks to the LAMC3-workshop in Copenhagen.

LAMC3 stands for Libraries, Archives, Museums: Changes, Challenges and Collaboration and is a network project that brings together Nordic research in the LAM-field. Except seminars and lectures, the participants got guided tours of key cultural institutions in Copenhagen. Both the Royal Library and The City Archive were natural places to visit but also newer and perhaps more experimental institutions invited us, like Enigma – Museum of Post, Tele and Communication.

However, one of the best take aways from the workshop-days is meeting new PhDs and researchers but also learning to know the ones I already knew even better. It is easy to underestimate the power of coffee breaks, but for the purpose of strengthening bonds to colleagues, they are invaluable. Chatting over a cup of coffee is not only nice and social fun, but also important to be able to do better collaborations in the academic community; writing papers together or co-arranging seminars or courses for students.

At the Department of ALM, we try to encourage our students to travel to conferences, workshops and meeting so that they also can get important academic- or work connections for their future career. Every semester a number of students get grants from the department for going away. We have sent students to UK, Estonia, Argentina, Finland, Germany…. Many of them have shared their experiences in the department journal, Tidskrift för ABM. For non-swedish speakers, I am sorry to say that most of the travelogues are in Swedish.

If you are going to study at the Department of ALM (or maybe do that already), I really recommend you to use the opportunity to get your research trip funded by the department. The application does not need to be all that complicated and the approvement rate is fairly high. 

So, this week I met with John Högström, 24 years old. He is one of our masterstudents at the Master Programme of ALM (Archive, Library and Museum studies). Since there are no students yet that can share their experiences of studying the master in digital humanities until next semester, I thought the next best thing was to hear out a student at our existing programme  about the experience of being a student at the Department of ALM.

John and me meet up for the interview in the local cantina to have a conversation over some vegan pasta and blue cheese risotto. This is the place on campus where students go for lunch, for a coffee break or to just hang out or work on some study project.

John, at campus Engelska Parken

Within the ALM-domain, John is specializing in museum and heritage studies. Being on the second year of the two-year programme, he is busy writing his master’s thesis and simultaneously wrapping up a course in theories and methods for the ALM-field.

I start the interview by asking about his study background. Before entering master studies, John tells that he mixed studies in history and ethnology, among other subjects. “I came to the ALM-department a bit by chance. I actually started with master studies in history of science and ideas. But two weeks in, I realized I wanted something else and decided to quit. […] I applied for studies in museum and cultural heritage instead, and got accepted! With the class already two weeks far, it was a bit of a struggle at first but I managed to catch up pretty quickly.”

So, what is his ideas about the programme, I wonder. In comparison with his earlier student experiences, is there something special about ALM? “Well, I like the different variations of exam forms. The variety of having home exams, seminars, papers, group work….I like it. Another thing that is new to me but which makes the programme more exciting are that the department also has distant students [attending the Library- and Information Science track of the ALM Master Programme] and that some lectures are recorded.”

In addition to lectures and seminars, the programme offer other complements. “We also have had quite many field trips; visiting places like the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, or the museum storage of Upplandsmuseet (the Uppland county museum, my note) gives a good opportunity to talk to professionals in the field and grounded perspectives of the meaning of your studies. […] The five weeks of internship was one of my favorite parts of my museum studies. I spent them on the Nordic Museum, at the Department for Digital Interaction. It was so much to learn and I developed a lot. Much focus was on effective ways to spread research digitally and how to work with digital information in the organisation”

But John is clear with that he does not have to go outside of the classroom to get a wider perspective on things. “To have external lecturers are always exciting. It is important to get input from different people, in addition to the lecturers from the ALM-department.”

Compared to John’s previous experiences, he thinks the student base at the Master Programme of ALM is more mixed. “At the bachelor’s programme in history, most of the people were similar in age and interest. Here, there is definitely more variation. The mix of experiences, ages and academic background definitely makes the seminar discussions more dynamic and rich of different perspectives.”

This interview continues in part 2: Social Life.