How to "bid" for a Heritage City project

Each of the Heritage City research projects presents students with excellent opportunities to work closely with experts from the wider world beyond the University. Many of these projects are multi-faceted, and other students may already be working on certain aspects of them: you will be advised about this when you express an interest in a topic, using the process outlined below.

It is important that we find the right combination of student, internal supervisor and external partner for each topic or topic element, and if we are not convinced that this is the case, your bid may be declined.
By submitting a bid, you are agreeing to the procedures, terms and conditions set out below.

1. Find your supervisor
Identify a member of the teaching staff on your degree programme who has interests in the topic area, and would be willing to supervise the research project (for example, as your dissertation supervisor). You will need to convince your potential supervisor that you have the right skills, interests and commitment to take on this topic and do it justice.

2. Make an initial bid
Email Dr. J Webster (the Heritage City Co-ordinator: j.l.webster@ncl.ac.uk ) to express an interest in the topic, and to provide her with contact details for yourself and your supervisor.

 3. Contact your external partner
Once you theme has been finalised, you and your supervisor will be provided with information about the external organisation sponsoring your topic (for example, English Heritage), and the specific individual who will be your contact there (for example, the relevant archaeologist). You will now be able to contact this person directly to explore the topic in more depth. We ask you to make initial contact jointly: in an email from both your supervisor and yourself. Again, you will need to convince the external partner that you have the right skills, interests and commitment to take on this topic and do it well.

Students must not attempt to make independent contact with external partners without following this procedure: your application will be rejected if you do not follow this rule!

The partner’s role is to offer expertise, and provide access to information and resources that might not otherwise be available to you. Note that the external partner is not an additional supervisor, and is not required to read or comment upon anything you write (but may of course offer to do so). It is your own responsibility to develop and maintain a good working relationship with the external partner. It is important to remember that these are busy people, with very full diaries. You will need to arrange meetings with them well in advance, and should not expect immediate replies to emails.

4. Complete a Heritage City Project Application Form
Once you have established that the external partner is happy for you to take ownership of the project, you will need to complete a Heritage City Project Application Form (downloadable here). The form must be signed by yourself, your supervisor and your external partner, and then emailed to Jane Webster at j.l.webster@ncl.ac.uk

5. Take ownership of your project
If your form is in order, Dr Webster will confirm your ownership of the project (or project element) by emailing you. Note that projects will remain on the website, because other students may be interested in different aspects of the same topic.

6. Final submission
Each project will of course be completed to an internal deadline (for example, as a dissertation in History, or Archaeology), and dates and submission procedures and formats will vary widely. But upon completion of the project (in whatever form it takes), you will be required to do the following:

Find a Project