Each year we ask our interns to write a post reflecting on their time working in the DH Lab. Here is Lachlan’s:

Hi, I’m Lachlan, and I’m a final year English student approaching the end of my internship. It seems like yesterday that I was starting my position here, but the incredible variety of experiences I have had at the DH lab has been invaluable. This internship has allowed me to cross borders that are usually more fixed in the humanities, stepping into the technological aspects of research such as digitisation, photography and 3D modelling techniques among others.

I have been able to try my hand at all kinds of skills on offer in the DH lab, from photogrammetry and RTI to 3D printing and podcast production.

At the same time, I have been able to tailor my work to my own interests. For example, since I study Japanese as part of my degree, I greatly enjoyed working on the Languages for All outreach programme, which aimed to introduce secondary school students across Devon to the benefits of studying a language in higher education.

My previous experience working in Exeter’s Special Collections and interest in archival work helped me when working with materials from the Arab and Islamic institute as well as the archaeology department, which were fascinating historical artefacts to photograph and digitise for future students.

I am extremely grateful for the support of the Digital Humanities team and their continued help with all the work that I have been involved in this past year. I cannot recommend this internship enough to any student who loves learning, experimenting and playing with new and unknown skills, and wants an experience that will set them up for a successful career in any HASS related field they want to work in!

Each year we ask our interns to write a post reflecting on their time working in the DH Lab. Here is Evelyn’s:

I’m Evelyn, a third-year English undergraduate student coming to the end of my second year as a Digital Humanities Intern at the University of Exeter. This year I have worked closely with the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum and their collection, and each week has been a new puzzle to solve.

One of my greatest challenges was working on the Raspberry Pi box, a project inherited from a previous intern, Ellen. The museum wanted a visitor survey system that would allow users to press a button to anonymously collect information about whether they were a student, international, local, or other British visitor. They also requested that the Pi would run headless, connected to physical buttons, in other words, running with no screens required. After brushing up on my originally rusty Python knowledge, I devised a system, wrote my own code, and created a working input-output system. Then I worked in OpenSCAD to design accurate side pieces that would both fit tightly but also still have wiggle space to be removed if needed. Plus, they needed little holes to keep the Pi cool and space for cables to move in and out. After a lot of trial and error, experimenting, learning, and finally succeeding, the Pi Box is now set up at the exit to the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.

Outside of the box, I have digitised various board games, toys, and other wacky and wonderful items for the museum, each with its own challenges. For example, this Universal Studios Florida liquid toy, which proved especially challenging because of its transparency, and how still one needed to be to not disturb any of the liquid during filming and photography.

Then, while working on a 1970s Doctor Who board game, I used photogrammetry and Agisoft MetaShape to make a 3D model of the Dalek game pieces. Many of the pieces were damaged, so I wanted to create a 3D model so I could try and 3D print more pieces to complete the set and keep the better pieces in a virtual state so they can be explored and played with undamaged.

Finally, I was very pleased to try my hand at making a reel to show other students who may be interested in applying a glimpse into some of the projects I’ve worked on. Allowing me to share and reflect on my time within Digital Humanities.

This second year as an intern has really challenged me and forced me to swim out of my comfort zone but also excited me with new opportunities for growth. The work was much more independent, and I felt now I had a good grounding of skills I could start exploring and designing my own methods and workflows, but still with a great team of experts on hand whenever I needed it. Thank you, Digital Humanities, for having me back for a second year; this has been such a wonderful opportunity to turn my English degree into something more than just staring at books.

Each year we ask our interns to write a post reflecting on their time working in the DH Lab. Here is the first of this year’s from Holly:

When I first applied to this internship, I was drawn in by the opportunity to work with archival materials, especially when photographing historical collections, but I quickly became involved in so many areas of the lab. I’ve been able to work across a huge range of projects and learnt technical skills that I’ve used throughout my internship and as part of my studies.

One of the first projects I worked on involved digitising some playbills from the Exeter Theatre Royal. As someone who loves theatre, this was incredibly exciting. I loved handling these pieces of theatrical history and seeing the illustrations and typography up close. It was a brilliant introduction to the practical side of digitisation and to the care and attention involved in preserving archival materials.

Over the course of the year, I’ve had the chance to work on projects that were completely different from one another, which is one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about working at the DH Lab. Before Christmas, I was part of a project that used GIS to match historical aerial images to the modern landscape of the Atacama Desert in Chile. This allowed us to create a map where old photographs overlaid Google Earth imagery, allowing us to identify changes to archaeological sites over time.

Another area I’ve enjoyed exploring is 3D modelling and printing. I’ve been able to apply the skills I’ve learnt during my time at the lab directly to my coursework, submitting a video I created using equipment in the lab as part of an assessment.  I spoke about how 3D printing can be used to make tactile images, and how this could be used to make traditionally visual materials more accessible for disabled audiences. Before this internship, I never would have imagined myself voluntarily submitting a video essay, let alone enjoying recording it, but working in the labs gave me the skills and practice I needed to feel confident doing so.

Out of everything I’ve been involved in this year, my favourite project to work on was a reconstruction of what the Whitefriars Theatre may have looked like. Throughout this project, I collaborated with one of my lecturers, Pascale Aebischer, who created an initial diagram of the measurements of the theatre based on existing scholarship. I then turned this into a digital and 3D printed model that can now be used for teaching. The model helps to demonstrate how the theatre’s layout affects sightlines and, ultimately, the audience’s experience of a play. I’ve really appreciated how much flexibility we’ve had to pursue projects connected to our own interests.

Over the year I’ve gained practical experience in digitisation, GIS, and 3D modelling, but I’ve also gained confidence in trying different methods (and troubleshooting!). It’s strange to think how much has happened in such a short space of time. The variety of experiences has been incredible, and I’m very grateful to the DH team and my fellow interns for making it such an enjoyable year.