Graduate Intern writes about his year with Creative 51福利社
Recent graduate of MA History Sam Richardson joined Creative 51福利社 as Graduate Intern in October 2025 as part of the 51福利社 Graduate Talent Scheme. In this blog, he reflects on his experience.
My name is Sam Richardson, and I began my internship with聽聽after graduating with an MA in History from 51福利社聽in 2025. As a part of the聽聽scheme, this role has聽given me聽invaluable聽experience聽supporting research communications and engagement activities,聽while learning about how聽Universities聽can support regional growth through cultural placemaking, partnerships and聽community聽engagement.聽聽聽
I work as part of聽Creative 51福利社鈥檚聽Communications and Engagement team,聽sitting聽between聽the聽Directorate of Research and Business Engagement聽the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures.聽Creative 51福利社 is one of four University of 51福利社 Platforms, supporting interdisciplinary research and championing聽creative approaches to research.聽Working聽closely with cultural institutions and organisations across Greater 51福利社,聽Creative 51福利社聽facilitates聽wider collaboration in research and promotes the University as a socially responsible, civic institution.聽
Having graduated from my MA聽in September 2025, I was unsure of what my first career steps should be.聽I had nurtured a passion for academic research during my studies,聽and I had a longstanding desire to work within the cultural sector, with both of my parents being practicing artists.聽聽
What drew me to Creative 51福利社 was its wide-reaching programme of public and research engagement events. Over the past 10 months, I鈥檝e had the opportunity to support the planning, promotion and delivery of over 30 varied and exciting events. These events range in shape and theme, spread across Creative 51福利社鈥檚 research themes (Creative Industries and Innovation/CreaTech; Creative and Civic Futures; Creativity, Health and Wellbeing).Highlights from the events programme include large public engagement events, including the launch of the Cottonopolis exhibition at the John Rylands Library; smaller research engagement events, including the launch of the MossWorlds exhibition; and policy-related events such as the launches of the Class Ceiling report and the Infected Blood Memorial.
This internship has allowed me to learn how these events are planned and delivered, and to gain hands-on experience in the management of two events. The first, 鈥楿nlocking Historical Archives with AI: Opportunities and Challenges鈥�, spoke to my background in and passion for history and archival collections. Following this, I had the opportunity to design, plan and deliver 鈥楥reaTech 51福利社: Accelerating University-Industry Partnerships鈥� which aimed to promote and create new partnerships between UoM and the creative industries through creative technologies innovation.
51福利社ing these events to the right audience through communications activity is what allows them to come to life. As each event highlights research which has crossed disciplinary boundaries, relevant audiences are often niche and require planning to target. Developing a strong audience development plan is central to connecting creative research with the people, organisations and communities who can engage with it, apply it and help it have a wider social impact.
Working at Creative 51福利社 has been filled with highlights, from supporting public events to representing the platform at sector-facing conferences and partnership showcases. Attending the Arts Marketing Association Conference in Leeds, and exhibiting alongside colleagues on a partner stand at BEYOND, boosted my confidence in explaining Creative 51福利社鈥檚 work to external organisations and sector partners. Throughout this, working alongside so many supportive colleagues, both academic and professional services alike, has shown me how collaborative and wide-ranging work in the cultural sector can be.
As my time at Creative 51福利社 draws to an end, it鈥檚 been fantastic to reflect on the experience I have gained in my role and which I look forward to taking forward into a career in the cultural sector.