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

I’m Emily and I am a second-year Liberal Arts student studying International Relations and Philosophy. This year as an intern at the DH lab has sped by and I am very thankful for the opportunities it has given me. Overall, it has been an extremely rewarding experience. I have learned about and gained valuable first-hand experience using a diverse range of archiving and digitizing tools, made new friends and obtained a wealth of work experience. 

As interns, we spend a significant portion of the first term trying out an array of digitizing techniques. This included, photographing playbills from the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, creating photogrammetry and RTI models, recording VHS tapes and 3D printing.  I especially enjoyed creating photogrammetry models. Although it was challenging, it was also very rewarding to see a fully intact 3D model take shape from a series of photos that I had taken. It also gave me some insight into how online 3D models (such as those that you might see on a museum website) are made. 

In the second and third terms, I worked with a fellow intern on the DAME (Digital Archive of the Middle East) project. This involved the digitization of newspapers, posters, maps and collections of documents using the 150-megapixel camera set-up in Lab 1 as well as the digitization of negative and regular photographs and books using a scanner. I enjoyed working on this project because it gave me the chance to handle a lot of really interesting materials. I especially enjoyed working with the negatives, having come into the internship with a general love for photographs.  

Furthermore, as an International Relations student a lot of what we were digitizing was relevant to what I am studying. For example, I spent a few weeks photographing minutes of evidence heard at the Palestine Royal Commission and several additions of the Free Palestine magazine written by British-based activists in the 1960s. This was extremely interesting considering the escalation of and enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict today. 

Overall, I had an amazing experience working as an intern at the DH lab. I would highly recommend it to any student looking to gain work experience and new skills. Even if it is not immediately obvious how this internship relates to your degree, as in my case, it can still provide invaluable experience in a flexible and friendly work environment.