King's College London

New graduates Annette Turcan (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Nada Abouel Kheir (International Relations) recently spent a month working in the Culture team as part of the King's Undergraduate Research Fellowship (KURF) programme.

A Fellowship gives students the valuable opportunity to work alongside King's academics and professional services staff, further honing their research abilities and equipping them with skills needed in the modern workforce. Fellowships also provide the faculty or department with greatly valued research support, as well as the unique perspective of each student.

The Culture team requested KURFs to undertake research relating to two key projects: a major new public engagement initiative, and the development of a detailed and updated public relations database. We were delighted and impressed by the calibre of both Annette and Nada's research skills, their clear insights and the recommendations they offered.

Here, Annette and Nada share some thoughts on their experience and reflect on their time in the Culture team.

Annette Turcan

Research project: Undertake research relating to the King's Festival (a new initiative planned for 2021), including opportunities to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders around the theme of 'Intelligence'. 

 

During my time as an undergraduate fellow for the Culture team, I worked on the King’s Festival, a project that aims to foster cross-disciplinary academic research and use creative collaborations to showcase how the research and education at King’s can be of service to our society.

My main responsibilities included identifying the academics within King’s that could potentially contribute to the festival, researching external organisations and individual collaborators who could join the academics in their research, as well as illustrating how other festivals have been structured and how the King’s Festival can differentiate itself.

Through my research, I discovered a great number of cultural organisations and initiatives, and how these play an important role in communicating complex academic research to general audiences. Moreover, this fellowship gave me practical insight into the early planning and development stages of a large-scale project. Through my interaction with the wider team, I learnt about the various preliminary steps and actions that are necessary in order to guarantee the success of an event, such as the King’s Festival.

I am delighted that I took part in this program and contributed to research that will help the Culture team in the planning and development of this project. Having the opportunity to interact and learn from industry professionals and their experiences is certainly the highlight of my fellowship.

Nada Abouel Kheir

Research project: Undertake a detailed analysis of existing and future media contacts that the Culture team could utilise, as well as provide research insight into the Culture team's social media presence.  

Working with King’s College London’s Culture team for the past month as a King’s Undergraduate Research Fellow (KURF) has been a very rewarding experience that expanded my understanding of the intricate and fascinating relationship between the arts and education.

I worked on a project that aimed to explore the ways in which the Culture team’s media relations and social channels can be developed in order to have a larger outreach, within and beyond King’s Cultural Community. 

My research consisted of analysing archival reports of previous projects and selecting the best media outlets and journalists that have covered these projects and would be likely to continue to do so. Furthermore, I researched new potential media outlets and journalists in order to expand the Culture team’s media relations. Lastly, I undertook an analysis of the Culture team's current social media channels in order to predict the best methods to increase audience engagement.

Working with the Culture team exposed me to the vast cultural community that exists within King’s and London, as well as furthering my curiosity about the arts in an academic environment and how they can be used for expression, therapy and solidifying existing academic research. I found this particularly interesting and hope that more students can engage with the work of the Culture team and the King's Cultural Community, as they brilliantly continue to bridge the gap between the arts and education through dynamic projects and exhibitions.

 

The Culture team would like to sincerely thank Annette and Nada for their work, friendly approach and valued insights into each of their projects.

Although fellowships have now closed for 2019, visit the King's Experience pages to find out more about future King's Undergraduate Research Fellowships.