Connecting Museums: a case study in leadership, innovation and education in university science museums leading internationalisation projects

José Luís Schifino Ferraro,Jessica A Suess,Adam Goldwater,Janet Stott,Caroline Mcdonald,Melissa Guerra Simões Pires,M Paul Smith

doi:10.15448/1981-2582.2019.1.29526

José Luís Schifino Ferraro, Jessica A Suess + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15448/1981-2582.2019.1.29526

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Abstract

This article reports on Connecting Museums: leadership, innovation and education in Science Museums, an international conference involving three university museums: Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCT-PUCRS), the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), at Newcastle University (NU), and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH). The partnership started with a project to develop a joint exhibition on the theme of evolution organised by MCT-PUCRS and GNM, supported by the British Council’s Newton Fund (Institutional Skills 2016). The two museums shared the project at the UK University Museums Group (UMG) conference in 2016, where it came to the attention of colleagues at OUMNH. Following the UMG conference, the leadership and education teams of the three museums opened a dialogue to exchange knowledge and experience on leadership, innovation and education in science museums. This culminated in the first Connecting Museums conference in Porto Alegre, Brazil in October 2017. The conference was attended by 81 professionals, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students with interests in museology, the natural sciences and related areas. *** Connecting Museums: um estudo de caso sobre liderança, inovação e educação em museus de ciências universitários liderando projetos de internacionalização ***Este artigo constitui-se de um relato sobre o Connecting Museums: liderança, inovação e educação em Museus de Ciências, uma conferência internacional envolvendo três museus universitários: o Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCT-PUCRS), o Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), da Newcastle University (NU) e o Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH). A parceria entre as instituições iniciou-se a partir de um projeto para o desenvolvimento de uma exposição conjunta, organizada pelo MCT-PUCRS e pelo GNM financiada pelo Newton Fund por meio do edital Institutional Skills 2016 promovido pelo British Council. Os dois museus apresentaram o projeto na conferência do University Museum Group (UMG) em 2016 no Reino Unido, despertando a atenção de colegas do OUMNH. Após a conferência, as equipes de gestão e de educação dos três museus iniciaram um diálogo que culminou na troca de conhecimentos e experiências nas áreas de liderança, inovação e educação em museus de ciências. Este diálogo resultou na primeira edição da conferência Connecting Museums em Porto Alegre, Brasil, em outubro de 2017. Participaram do evento 81 profissionais, entre pesquisadores e alunos de graduação e pós-graduação, cujo interesse estava relacionado à museologia, ciências naturais e áreas correlatas.Palavras-chave: Museus de ciência. Liderança. Inovação. Educação em ciências. Internacionalização.

Highlights

This article reports on Connecting Museums: leadership, innovation and education in Science Museums, an international conference involving three university museums: Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCT-PUCRS), the Great North Museum: Hancock (GNM), at Newcastle University (NU), and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH)
The partnership started with a project to develop a joint exhibition on the theme of evolution organised by MCT-PUCRS and GNM, supported by the British Council’s Newton Fund (Institutional Skills 2016)
The two museums shared the project at the UK University Museums Group (UMG) conference in 2016, where it came to the attention of colleagues at OUMNH

Summary

University museums as strategic partners for internationalisation

There are few studies investigating the role of museums in university internationalisation programmes, but considering the way that university museums are positioned within universities and how they combine teaching, research and social engagement, they offer compelling opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across national boundaries. Morosini identified internationalisation linked to teaching – involving undergraduate and graduate students – which relies on international curriculum validation that certifies a foreign university can accept a student to develop a plan of work or course specific disciplines In this case, it depends on specific grant programmes that result from national education policies and agreements with other countries (MOROSINI, 2006; 2017). 2019 institutions of higher education that aims to catch subjects to boost research activities, the second is based on solidarity and aims to develop local skills attending specific local demands (MOROSINI, 2011; DIDRIKSSON, 1997) Of these two types of internationalisation models, the second is the one that best explains the partnership that was established between MCT-PUCRS and GNM (FERRARO; PIRES; SHINKAY, 2016; FERRARO; PIRES, 2017), which was later extended to OUMNH. This paper argues that in addition to this traditional area of international exchange, activities based around exhibitions and public engagement offer strategic opportunities for internationalisation

Contextualizing the beginning of the partnership

Future perspectives