Amgueddfa Cymru to lead in £1.8m collaborative research scheme to help students find work in the culture and heritage sector
Amgueddfa Cymru i arwain cynllun ymchwil cydweithredol gwerth £1.8 miliwn i helpu myfyrwyr i ddod o hyd i waith yn y sector diwylliant a threftadaeth
Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales has secured funding for a research project alongside four major Welsh organisations to equip students for future roles within the culture and heritage sector.
The Collaborative Doctoral Landscape Award, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), represents an investment of over £1.8m, and will invite 18 PhD students to work in collaboration with university partners across Wales and the UK over the course of four years.
Museum Wales will be the consortium lead for the new funding scheme, in collaboration with The National Library of Wales, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW).
The scheme will allow students to explore questions about Welsh culture and identity, by bringing together the collections and resources of five of the largest culture and heritage organisations in Wales. With 12 research hubs, the students will be able to unlock and tell new stories about the past, explore its impact on life in Wales today, and explore what it might mean to be Welsh in the future.
The partnership will prioritise the following research areas:
- Everyone is represented: how can we interpret collections and engage new audiences to tell new stories and re-tell familiar stories through new voices?
- Healthy places: how can cultural heritage support people, places and nature to thrive?
- Digital access to collections: how can digital tools and methods improve the creation, accessibility and availability of data and collections, as well as their interpretation and the types of stories told?
- Conservation: how can we manage decisions about conservation in contexts of widening participation and collection use, climate change adaption and landscape-scale change?
Current students on a similar studentship, The Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme, are covering a range of topics. Third year student Elise Unwin is looking at more recent history, with her research focusing on collecting Covid archive at Amgueddfa Cymru.
Elise Unwin said:
"The most exciting part of my research so far has been inviting original archive contributors to take part in oral history interviews, talking about what they remember from lockdowns compared with how they felt at the time. We’ve spoken to a woman that was pregnant during lockdown, a refugee, an intensive care nurse – a mixture of people with varying experience of the pandemic.
"I have found that talking about it in the present is helping people process their emotions now. Doing this research also shows how we can use museums and heritage to help people's mental health and well-being. This work is important because it captures a diverse range of experiences from lockdown across Wales that future generations will also be able to learn from. This CDP opportunity at Amgueddfa Cymru makes me feel like I am truly able to contribute to a pivotal moment in our history and academic knowledge."
Meanwhile, Dr Christopher Griffiths completed his PhD in 2025, focusing on Bronze Age hoarding practices in south-east and west Wales. His research was grounded in collaborative fieldwork, working closely with metal-detectorists and landowners in the co-production of archaeological knowledge.
Dr Christopher Griffiths said:
"This studentship allowed me to focus on the subject that I love but also explore new pathways and potential career options. It was the perfect opportunity to research into this subject in more detail and get more experience on the curatorial side of the work too, for example, cataloguing and accessioning.
"I'm now a curator of archaeology at Manchester Museum, which I started in the summer of last year. I know I would never have been able to get that job without the experience that I got from doing the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership here."
Dr Jenny Geroni, Head of Research for Amgueddfa Cymru, added:
"We are delighted to have been successful in our application for the Collaborative Doctoral Landscape Award. This is a significant achievement that brings together five of Wales’ largest cultural organisations to deepen our understanding of Welsh culture and heritage.
"One of our shared priorities is to explore new ways of interpreting collections and engaging with audiences, enabling us to tell new stories and re-examine familiar ones through diverse perspectives and voices. This award presents an exciting opportunity for those directly involved in the scheme, but also for Wales and future generations who will benefit from the research."
ENDS
Notes to editors
Amgueddfa Cymru belongs to everyone and is here for everyone to enjoy. We’re a charity and a family of seven national museums located across the country. We aim to be a cultural beacon for Wales in the world and to inspire learning and enjoyment for everyone through Wales’ National Collection.
Our welcome is free thanks to funding from the Welsh Government and extends to people from all communities.
Follow Amgueddfa Cymru’s seven museums on Instagram and Facebook. Play your part in Wales’ story: by visiting, volunteering, by joining, by donating.
About the Collaborative Doctoral Landscape Award by AHRC
- The consortium (the National Botanic Garden of Wales, The National Library of Wales, Cadw, RCAHMW) led by Amgueddfa Cymru will award 18 PhD studentships over 4 years.
- The funding calls will take place in summer 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 for projects commencing in October 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.
- Each studentship will provide the following for students to submit their thesis within the funded period:
- A maintenance stipend and tuition fees based on UKRI (home rates).
- Support for research related costs.
- Opportunities for full-time or part-time doctoral research.
- Full-time awards will be 3.5 years in duration, with flexibility to extend up to 4 years to support individual student development opportunities such as placements, training or additional skills development.
- Part-time awards will be offered on a pro-rata basis.
- The studentship will be awarded through a competitive selection process.
- Expression of interest is now open and will close Friday, 9 October 2026.
- To find out more, head over to the Amgueddfa Cymru website – Doctoral training at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales | Museum Wales.
Additional quotes on the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme
Elinor Gwynn, first year student studying the history of herbal medicine in Wales between 1840-1948, said:
"The Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme is such a rare and rich opportunity to explore the archives of different partner organisations to uncover new knowledge and medicinal plant, and to reveal different ways of understanding our ways of living.
"It is a topic that has fascinated me since childhood. I can’t wait to uncover and share stories about the history of medical herbalism in Wales during the 19th and 20th centuries. Having the support of several heritage and academic institutions to explore the local and global connections between people and plants is invaluable."
Keshlan Padayachee, first year student studying the Roman colonial story in south-east Wales, said:
"This studentship gives me the space to rethink Roman Wales beyond inherited colonial frameworks and to consider how archaeology might reshape the Welsh cultural imaginary and the futures it makes possible."