Mateenuddin Ahmad
Mateenuddin Ahmad, a recent University of Groningen graduate, completed a Training Development internship at the Europeana Foundation in 2024. He reflects upon his MA thesis on Europeana and Google Arts and Culture, and contributions and learning experiences as an intern.
My decision to pursue this internship was based on three main reasons. Firstly, it was a requirement for my MA program in Datafication and Digital Literacy to complete an internship of three - four months; secondly, the Training Development Intern position presented a valuable opportunity to gain hands-on experience and advance my career in instructional design or training and development; and finally, I wanted an insider's view of the processes of digitalisation, platformisation and datafication of cultural heritage artefacts, to relate to my research. This internship at Europeana fulfilled all three objectives effectively, and I was excited to work for an organisation known for its cultural and professional diversity and a frontrunner in digitalisation of Europe’s cultural heritage.
Before completing the internship, I wrote my Masters thesis on Europeana and Google Arts and Culture, so I was already familiar with the Europeana website and its functionalities. My thesis examines the digitalisation of cultural artefacts and how platforms like Europeana.eu and Google Arts and Culture curate these artefacts.
I found that each platform’s ideological standpoint significantly influences its curatorial approach, impacting how cultural heritage is curated, portrayed and made available to the user. Here, the process of platformisation also plays a key role in determining their curation strategies.
The curation and portrayal of cultural heritage in turn affects our worldview. The way things are represented or shown to us significantly influences their reception and shapes our worldview or reality. Ultimately, the ways in which cultural artefacts are curated, displayed and represented impact public values, such as diversity, transparency, and usability, and carry broader implications on our democratic values. For example, I found the curatorial practices of Google Arts and Culture are selective compared to those of Europeana, which are more comprehensive and diverse.
I worked as an intern under the supervision of Sebastiaan ter Burg, Knowledge Development Specialist in the Community and Partner Engagement (CPE) team. The team connects with cultural institutions and communities through the Europeana Network Association (ENA) and develops and organises training courses (Europeana Academy), events and workshops. My main responsibilities included designing training courses for the Academy and creating a data analytics guidebook to monitor and enhance learners’ and students’ engagement with Europeana’s training courses.
As part of my internship, Sebastiaan suggested that I develop a course for the Europeana Academy on how to use the Europeana website. This course aims to help teachers, researchers, and creative and cultural heritage professionals to make the most of the website and its cultural heritage content. Once the course is ready, it will be migrated to the Europeana Training Platform so that people can enrol in it and benefit from it. The Europeana Training platform is based on Open edX, an open source Learning Management System (LMS), used to design and deliver self-paced or instructor-led training or educational courses online.
After completing the course, I developed a data analytics dashboard to analyse user data from three main sources: the MOOCit analytics platform (associated with the edX LMS), the edX platform itself, and periodic surveys conducted by the CPE team to monitor user engagement with the academy’s training courses. The visualised data from this dashboard has been utilised in reports, presentations, and publications by the CPE and other teams at the Europeana Foundation.
Additionally, I assisted Sebastiaan in delivering a guest lecture at Vrije University, explaining the aim and benefits of the Europeana website to Cultural Studies students. This experience provided valuable insights into the practical aspects of training delivery. I also presented my MA thesis findings to Europeana staff members, sharing key takeaways relevant to different teams within the organisation.
Working with Sebastiaan as a supervisor has been a wonderful experience for me. He was not just a great mentor but also a friend. He has always been kind, cheerful, insightful and considerate. He allowed me the freedom to approach tasks in my own way and at my own pace - prioritising productivity over strict timelines. I valued how Sebastiaan guided me to correct minor mistakes and explained how to approach them differently in the future.
While working with Sebastiaan, I improved upon some of my existing skills and learned new ones, including time management, communication and organisation skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills. During this internship, I also acquired valuable experience in managing edX Learning Management Systems (LMS), instructional design, project management, training delivery and data analytics. I gained more insights into the Europeana website, its features and functionalities, its other products like the API, and how to design training courses for diverse audiences working in the cultural heritage sector.
I enjoyed working with the CPE team and colleagues from across the Europeana Foundation, including Nicole McNeilly, Impact Advisor, Julia Fallon, CPE Team Manager, and Valentine Charles, Data Services Director. Each provided valuable learning experiences.
My internship at the Europeana Foundation was a highly enriching experience that allowed me to apply and expand my professional experience and theoretical knowledge. This placement has been pivotal in shaping my future career orientation.
I think that the Europeana Foundation is an excellent workplace for anyone interested in cultural heritage, media studies, data environments, curation, artefact acquisition, archival studies, or digital culture. To stay up to date on future job opportunities, the latest news and upcoming projects related to cultural heritage, I recommend that you follow Europeana on social media (such as LinkedIn and X), and join the Europeana Network Association.
