September 4, 2025, by Arts Placements

What I Did Last Summer (And Why You Should Do It Too)

My Experience Participating in the Faculty of Arts’ Summer Research Placement at the D.H. Lawrence Museum! 

By Georgia Darwin – English with Creative Writing student

The Placement

I’ll be the first to admit I miss university every second I’m not there. So, when the opportunity to get paid, stay in Notts and gain some career-changing experience came up this summer, I jumped on it.  The Summer Research Project looked completely different for everyone that worked on it.  Some people worked from home, others from University Park, Manuscripts & Special Collections, or even completely offsite! In my placement, I split my time between Manuscripts and the D.H. Lawrence Museum.  Here, I made a real difference to the legacy of one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century.

The Work

It was a lot of work. A lot of reading. But in the end, the outcomes were worth it. By understanding what the museum already did, identifying areas of interpretation to expand on, and exploring what other birthplace museums did, I targeted my research to be hugely beneficial to the museum. I made a HUGE spreadsheet (Excel’s not all that bad) and designed a poster for the Faculty of Arts summarising my research.

I loved every second of working in both the museum and the archives, working with my fantastic supervisors to get stuck into the thick of it all. For me, working on a real-world project alongside experts in the field was incredibly valuable experience.

The Why

The placement allowed me to fill my CV with skills like Project Management, Data Entry, Independent Research, Public Engagement and much more. It will of course be beneficial for anyone going into a career in research, but every creative field values researchers.  If you want a leg-up in your career, this four-week placement is an amazing move to learn new skills, take on new challenges and meet some brilliant people. I even got to work with the local council!  It’s so important to get some experience under your belt before you graduate, and this placement gave me exactly that. Good luck in your applications for next summer to all who make the most of it!

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