"There is a wealth of new knowledge and insights in our museums"

Museums are not only a treasure chamber in which new qualities and stories can be found all the time, but also a workshop in which museum professionals and the public together gain new knowledge, insights and experiences. Museum scientific research is very important for deepening knowledge about the collection and examining it from the questions posed by today's society. But how do you approach such research? That is the focus of the course 'Research by museum staff', organised by Utrecht University.

In this practical course, museum staff will acquire recent insights into conducting scientific research. With this knowledge, you can design a sound research design and formulate a research request tailored to your own field of research.

In four meetings with a select group of colleagues, you will gain insight into recent developments in scientific (art) historical and museological research. You will also learn more about the requirements for an application for a research grant in this field. During the course, you will have the opportunity to work out a research application.

Valuable

Doing scientific research can deepen the daily work of museum professionals, course coordinator Eveline Deneer stated in an earlier interview: "At the end of the course, you will have a lot of practical knowledge about setting up your research and applying for grants. Furthermore, you will be aware of the latest scientific frameworks. Moreover, you will have insight into quality standards in terms of formulating research proposals. You will also learn how to translate these frameworks and guidelines into relevant research within museum practice. And that is valuable, because our museums contain a wealth of new knowledge and insights."

Speakers

Over four afternoons, various guest speakers from both the museum world and the university will speak. For this edition, they are Lieke Wijnia (Head of Research & Library, Museum Catharijneconvent), Dr Sandra Kisters (Head of Collections and Research, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen), Anja Bastenhof (Information Specialist Humanities, University Library, Utrecht University) and Marjolijn Bol (Associate Professor, Utrecht University).