ITP 2013 : Week One

Hello and welcome to the first post on our Friday afternoon feedback and reflection sessions. At the end of each week, we hold a discussion looking back on the week’s programme. Here’s a brief overview of the comments from the participants’ first week at the BM:

Highlights of week 1:
• Welcome days, including a presentation and talk by Neil MacGregor – 21 participants, 10 different countries and lots of enthusiasm!
• A trip to Cambridge with a guided tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum , including a talk on the fantastic ‘Origins of the Afro Comb’ exhibition and visits to several University of Cambridge museums. Thanks to Sally-Ann Ashton for a great day!
• Introductions and welcome sessions at the various participating departments with behind-the-scenes access to stores and discussions with curators.
• Praise for the Museum’s representative collection of African cultural heritage –particularly Sudan.
• Well-organised schedules and overall satisfaction with the ITP team (Thanks guys!)

Questions for future weeks:
• Scheduled times for group discussions aside from those allocated to particular events and talks.
• More information on fundraising and financing. (Following Friday’s session on fundraising, please email any follow-up questions to the ITP team)
• Programmes to be more tailored to the individual needs and interests of the participants – including maybe more time in specific departments and more access to and time for individual research in the departmental libraries. (Department Representatives will work with you to tailor your departmental time)
• Hugely enjoyable, but long days. (We fully understand how intensive the ITP schedule is. We just want to make sure that while you’re here , you get to experience as much as you can)
Thanks to all our participants for their active contributions, particularly considering it was the last item on a Friday afternoon agenda after a very busy week.
Looking forward to this week’s comments!
The ITP team