Project spotlights

Project timeline: October - December 2024 

The Swadhinata Trust is a London based secular Bengali community group that works to promote Bengali history and heritage amongst young people. They have been active for over twenty years, putting on a range of brilliant, community-led activities such as heritage trails, art exhibitions, community workshops, and educational programmes.

However, as a volunteer-based organisation, The Swadhinata Trust lacks the resources to measure and understand its impact on stakeholder groups and communities. This knowledge is vital in the heritage sector, ensuring future planning is supported by evaluative data and developing the capacity to demonstrate impact to potential funding bodies. The Swadhinata Trust briefed qHeritage to deliver resources and models that would enable it to evaluate its impacts.

qHeritage were tasked with helping The Trust address the following questions: 

• What impact are we making? 
• Who are our key beneficiaries? Which groups/communities are we impacting, and which are we not?  
• How do our different activities/events/outputs make different impacts?  
• How has the wider historical context shaped the impact we make?  
• What is the best practice for making a meaningful impact in future? 

Following a competitive application process, two qHeritage teams were put together with students from the School of History and the School Business and Management. They received introductory training on the heritage sector, impact evaluation and client management. The teams collaborated closely to apply the skills and attributes they had developed in their degree programmes, combining knowledge of the politics and priorities of ‘heritage’ with skills around data analysis and communication.  

The qHeritage teams delivered a suite of outputs to support The Swadhinta Trust, including a qualitative data analysis report, website content analysis, an evaluation survey template for future use, and a set of strategic objectives. The Swadhinata Trust team reported:

"It's been really wonderful partnership to engage with qHeritage, it's given us a better understanding of what our needs are and what are what the gaps are. We were greatly benefited by the project deliverable and going forward we need to identify how do we address the issues they have identified in their report”.

Students reported enjoying the experience of working with students from different disciplines and highlighted how it supported their career plans:  

Sumayia Rouf, BA (Hons) History: “The main learning point for me has been how heritage works and what it really means. My understanding of heritage prior to this project had been limited and based on assumptions, but now I see how it works within society."

Matheus Da Silva, BA (Hons) History: “qHeritage has given me the confidence to enter the workforce knowing how to be a valuable member of any team."

Project timeline: January - April 2025

The archives and objects cared for by Barts Health Archives are amongst the largest and most important hospital and healthcare collections in the UK, spanning over 2.5km of shelving and nine centuries of history. qHeritage were tasked with creating new learning resources to support non-specialist audiences engage with their brilliant resources.

Following a competitive application process, three qHeritage teams were put together with students from the School of History and the School Business and Management. They received introductory training on the heritage sector, client management and an onboarding to Barts Health Archives. The teams collaborated closely to apply the skills and attributes they had developed in their degree programmes, combining knowledge of the politics and priorities of ‘heritage’ with skills around research, analysis and communication.

The qHeritage teams produced research guides on five subjects:

• Admission, discharge, and triage processes at the London Hospital
• London Hospital School of Radiography
• London Hospital School of Physiotherapy
• St Leonard’s Hospital School of Nursing
• German Hospital School of Nursing

The students developed their skills in research, public engagement and collaborative work, while gaining a vital, under-the-hood insight into archiving. The Barts team reported:

“The co-production relationship allows for us to be able to have collections research which wouldn't otherwise happen, and to support students in being able to develop their skills for employability”. -Medha Chotai (Archivist)

Students reported enjoying the experience of working with students from different disciplines and highlighted how it supported their career plans:   

Jasmin Kay (BA History): “It was just nice to make something that was gonna actually be useful for people rather than, something where it's like, oh, well, you're doing this work. And then like, it's just kind of the whole project. No one's going to see it afterwards. It's just kind of like doing the work for the sake of, like, getting the skills. But it's good that it's like going to be used by other people to navigate the archives.”

Zephyr Kurt Boney-Hundal (BA History and Politics): “I would say for me probably just doing a piece of work with a real client rather than I suppose a more simulated experience. Actually, knowing that if you mess up then that's going to have a real impact on somebody who you actually interact with. I think the real-life aspect of it was very motivating."

Project timeline: January - April 2025

In July 2024, following years of research and development, seven new, interactive period rooms were introduced in Museum of the Home’s permanent Rooms Through Time Galleries.

Following the initial evaluation focusing on learning outcomes set at the start of the gallery redevelopment, the Museum wanted to address two additional strands of evaluation, involving museum visitors (new and repeat) and non-visitor focus groups. qHeritage were tasked with generating fresh data and analysis on visitor and non-visitor experiences of their new collections.

Following the application process, two qHeritage teams were put together with students from the School of History and the School Business and Management. They received introductory training on the heritage sector, client management and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum of the Home. The project teams collaborated closely to apply the skills and attributes they had developed in their degree programmes, combining knowledge of the museum sector with skills around research, data analysis and communication.

The qHeritage teams investigated audience behaviour and experience, identifying key barriers to museum visitation and providing strategic recommendations to enhance engagement. Some of the methodologies the teams opted for included survey-based research, museum ethnography (e.g. measuring how long visitors spent in each exhibit) and focus groups discussions. Drawing on their data, the teams delivered final reports that suggested several strategic priorities:

• Amplifying digital marketing efforts
• Improving visibility across social media & online platforms
• Forming strategic partnerships with universities & cultural influencers
• Investing in interactive & digital experiences (expansion into VR, augmented reality & hands-on exhibits)
• Creating student & community ambassador programs to strengthen connections between local communities & the museum.

The Museum of the Home team was delighted with the project outcomes and reported:

“I found the non-visitor survey extremely helpful for us to understand what happens beyond. I think it's going to be very helpful in the long run about how we work across teams and with our communications, we have our new website being launched soon. So all of this I think has been incredibly helpful and the students have been very professional and nice to everyone and that's been the feedback from our Visitor Engagement team as well.” - Marina Maniadaki (Exhibitions and Project Manager)

“We were blown away by what the students produced. The project exceeded my expectations with the depth of information that was provided. The data was also interpreted and explained clearly and thoughtfully." -Louis Platman (Curator and Research Manager)

Students reported enjoying the real-world work experience and highlighted how it supported their career plans:   

Avneet Kaur Bains (BA History): “It's given me a taste on like the skills that you would utilise in a job role that specialises in project management and I think that it's given me sort of like a simulation, a preview of what,  a job like that would be, and it's sort of informed me or maybe I would like to go into a field that involves project management. I think I'd really enjoy that since I really enjoyed this project, so it's been very useful on the end."

Rishi Kumawat (MSc Management): "QHeritage helped me bridge academic learning with real world consultancy, building skills that directly enhance my professional readiness."

June 2026

The future of the past: qHeritage hosts Sydney Russell School students for work experience with a difference!

Recently, qHeritage was delighted to welcome fifteen students from Sydney Russell School for a week-long work experience placement. This marked the second year that qHeritage has delivered an immersive, heritage-focused programme, giving Year 12 students the opportunity to learn from one another while gaining insight into the work we do in partnership with heritage organisations.

The week began with a warm welcome to Queen Mary University of London, followed by an introduction to the qHeritage programme and a project management workshop led by our Coordinator, Kanishka Ratnayake. Students also took part in a Q&A session with qHeritage Director, Dr David Geiringer, who shared his expertise on London's rich heritage landscape and the vital role of heritage organisations in connecting communities with the past.

The placement was carefully designed to give students hands-on experience while developing valuable skills in research, creative writing, graphic design, video editing, leadership, teamwork, and communication. These transferable skills are not only essential for future study and employment but also help build confidence and creativity.

Students responded enthusiastically to the experience. In the post-placement survey, participants rated their understanding of the heritage sector at an average of 4.4 out of 5, while the quality of the feedback they received on their work scored an impressive 4.6 out of 5.

The highlight of the week was a Dragons' Den-style showcase, where student teams pitched creative marketing ideas for qHeritage. Their challenge was to develop engaging digital content that would help tell authentic heritage stories through video and social media. The quality of their work was exceptional, and many of the marketing materials they created will play an important role in qHeritage's communications over the coming year.

Throughout the week, we watched students grow in confidence as they worked independently and collaboratively. They generated innovative ideas, tested and refined them, and transformed them into creative outputs for real-world audiences. Most importantly, they left knowing that they had made a genuine contribution to qHeritage’s mission of enabling students to shape our collective heritage.

Read on to hear directly from the students about their experiences, what they learned during the placement, and how it has influenced their future study and career aspirations.

It was a pleasure to work with such an enthusiastic and talented group of young people, and we look forward to welcoming even more students as the programme continues to grow in the years ahead.

Hear what the students enjoyed most about the programme:

“Being able to work in a team and solve problems together. Also being able to communicate with the team members. It made me see queen mary university as an option for later on. It has also made me interested in politics/history more than I already was”. Alessia Tiutiu, Year 12 student.

“The placement has allowed me to work together as a team to produce a video i had no previous experience in. This project has allowed me to learn the skills to edit and be more aware of time management and teamwork. It has encouraged me to apply for queen mary’s as there was lots of support and encouragement”. Kacey-Leigh Skinner, Year 12 student.

“Learning to work in a team, being more professional, seeing what work life is like and gaining a deeper insight into what that requires. I really enjoyed my time at the university, and it has given me the opportunity to explore the campus and see what this university does for its students, so it has made me more confident in applying to study here next year. It was pretty nice experience, it did not take up much time and was not very stressful, overall I had a very good time here”. Tania Dineva, Year 12 student.

“I gained a deeper understanding into how heritage still impacts our day to day lives and how interesting it was to research about it”. Eliana Ussher, Year 12 student.

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June 2025

Recently, qHeritage had the privilege of hosting five Year 12 students from Sydney Russell School for their work experience placements. The programme helped support their future academic and career aspirations by offering an insight into the work we do with heritage organisations.

The week began with a warm welcome to Queen Mary University of London, an introduction to the qHeritage programme and a training session on project management from our Coordinator Kanishka Ratnayake. Q&A with qHeritage Director Dr. David Geiringer offered the students an overview of London’s heritage landscape, the state of the job market and tips for future career paths.

The qHeritage Team designed tasks to be completed in a hybrid format, matching the experiences of many in today’s workplaces. Students had the opportunity to develop skills around market research, recruitment, design, leadership and communication. In their final presentations, they demonstrated storytelling with data; a skill vital to a wide range of professional settings. The marketing materials and scoping reports the students produced have been central to our strategies this year – a testament to the quality of their work.

Over the week, we witnessed students develop a sense of independent thought, collaborative spirit and curiosity about the politics of public history. Participants left knowing they had made a meaningful contribution to our core business: enabling students to shape our collective heritage. It was a pleasure working with them and we look forward to expanding the programme in future years.