Internship, Student Placement, and Volunteering Policy
The RAI welcomes volunteers, interns, and those on student placements. This policy outlines the distinctions between these three ways of getting involved with the RAI and sets out the principles, aims, and expectations of each.
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world’s longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense. All volunteers, interns, and students on placement will assist in the pursuit of this aim.
Internships
Definition of an internship
All internships at the RAI are fixed-term positions paid at National Living Wage. These may be full time or part time. Interns will be employed by the RAI to assist with specific projects whilst being supported by RAI staff to develop their professional skills. Interns are temporary staff members and will have a contract of employment with the RAI.
Recruitment
The RAI will advertise internships for specific, time-limited projects through its usual recruitment methods. Interested applicants will submit applications and be shortlisted, interviewed, and selected on the basis of relevant skills and experience. The RAI will not accept speculative applications for interns outside of advertised projects.
Induction, training, support, and supervision
As staff members, interns will be assigned a supervisor and will receive induction and training from relevant RAI staff members. They will receive relevant skills training and structured support throughout their internship, as well as regular meetings with their supervisor. Interns will not be expected to work alone on RAI premises. They will not be expected to make contracts for the RAI, to make any commitments on the RAI’s behalf, or to represent themselves as a spokesperson for the RAI unless they are accompanied by a member of RAI staff.
Other Areas
For all other areas, including Insurance, Health and Safety, Copyright, Confidentiality, Data Protection, and Problem Solving, interns are covered by the Employee Handbook.
Student placements
Definition of a student placement
Student placements at the RAI are fixed-term projects agreed between a student at a recognised institution of further or higher education, the student’s institution, and the RAI. They will usually take place in-person but may also take place remotely, particularly for students at institutions outside the UK.
Students on placement are unpaid and commit to undertaking agreed tasks with the RAI in fulfilment of part of a course or degree programme, without a contract of employment or financial reward.
Students on placement are not a substitute for RAI employees and will not replace work done by paid staff. Relationships between staff and students on placement will be characterised by mutual trust and clear definition of their respective roles.
Students on placement must be at least 18 years old, with no upper age limit.
Student placements are distinct from routine student use of RAI resources e.g. research in the archives or attendance at events or workshops. Student placements will:
- Be a fixed-term projects with a specific focus;
- Be undertaken by a current student (of any discipline) of a recognised institution of further or higher education (in the UK or international);
- Be undertaken by the student as a recognised part of a specific course or degree programme, confirmed in writing by their course or degree coordinator;
- Materially contribute to the aims of the RAI e.g. by supporting educational, film, or collections programmes.
Recruitment
Student placements are not advertised as specific projects by the RAI, although the RAI may issue open calls for interest from students or teaching staff. Placements will be arranged in one of two ways.
- Members of RAI staff will agree with teaching staff at an institution of further or higher education to provide a placement programme for their student or students.
- Students tasked with finding an independent placement as part of their course or programme may approach the RAI to request a placement.
Where placements are organised directly with staff at an institution of further or higher education, that institution will be responsible for identifying the students who will participate, based on criteria agreed with RAI staff.
Where students request a placement independently, RAI staff will request a CV and covering letter and will invite the student for a discussion before deciding whether an appropriate placement can be offered. This decision will be based on whether the student’s course requirements can be accommodated by the RAI and whether the focus of the placement is aligned with the aims of the RAI.
The RAI has limited resources to support student placements each year. The RAI welcomes queries from teaching staff and students of any discipline but will prioritise requests from students currently studying within an anthropology department.
Induction, training, support, and supervision
Students on placement will be assigned a member of RAI staff as a project supervisor. They will receive the necessary induction and training to support them to complete the agreed tasks and access any resources needed for their project. Students on placement do not provide a service to the RAI in exchange for their training.
Students on placement will have regular meetings with their project supervisor. They will not work alone on RAI premises, they will not participate in ordinary RAI business, they will not represent themselves as spokesperson for the RAI, make contracts for the RAI, or make any commitments on the RAI’s behalf.
At the end of the placement the project supervisor will write a placement report which will be sent to the student and directly to the student’s designated course or programme coordinator.
Expenses
Students on placement are not entitled to reclaim expenses from the RAI.
Insurance
Students on placement carrying out their assigned tasks within the RAI premises are covered by the RAI’s Employers’ Liability insurance.
Problem solving
Students on placement should raise any initial concerns for informal discussion with their project supervisor. If they cannot be resolved, they should raise their concerns with the Assistant Director of Administration. Likewise, the project supervisor should raise concerns informally with the student on placement and if these cannot be resolved they should raise their concerns with the Assistant Director of Administration.
If concerns cannot be resolved both RAI and the student may end their arrangement at any time with immediate effect. If the placement is at risk of being ended early, the RAI and the student must both make this known to the student’s designated course or programme coordinator.
Health and Safety
The RAI is committed to the safety of students on placement. Students on placement will be provided with health and safety training relevant to their tasks.
Equality and Diversity
The RAI is committed to equal opportunities. Student placements are open to all regardless of age (over the age of 18); gender reassignment; marital or civil partnership status; pregnancy or maternity leave; disability; race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin; religion or belief; sex; or sexual orientation. The acceptance of a particular student for placement will be made on the basis of the suitability of the student for the tasks, internal capacity, and alignment of the project with the RAI’s aims only.
The RAI will discuss any needs of students on placement or prospective students to identify their full and safe involvement, and the best opportunities available. The RAI will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of students on placement wherever possible.
Copyright, Data Protection, and Confidentiality
Students on placement will personally retain the copyright of any written work they produce as part of their required coursework whilst associated with the RAI. The RAI will retain copyright of any material produced by the student for the RAI including photographs, film, and written material. However, the RAI will allow students to use material which they produce during their placement (e.g. digitised images or catalogue descriptions) for academic purposes without charge, subject to the RAI’s standard ethics review process and suitable acknowledgement of the RAI.
Students on placement are expected to treat any information relating to the RAI, its membership and operations to which they may have access both during and after the placement period as confidential.
The RAI will process students’ personal data in accordance with the RAI ‘s privacy policy. The RAI will use their best efforts to ensure that students on placement understand who is collecting and controlling their data; the purpose and scope of the data collected; steps which the RAI takes to ensure the security of the data; who to contact if a student has any questions related to their data.
Students on placement will also comply with the RAI’s Privacy Policy for any data which they collect, process, or handle during or after their placement.
Volunteers
Definition of a volunteer
The RAI appreciated the commitment and enthusiasm of volunteers. It is committed to providing safe, enjoyable, and meaningful volunteer projects which are aligned with its aim of furthering anthropology.
The RAI understands a volunteer as a person who provides a service of their own free will, without financial or other compensation, to assist the RAI in the achievement of its aims. Volunteers do not have the status of a worker or employee. The RAI does not commit to providing specific volumes or types of work, and volunteers are not required to make a minimum commitment to carry out any types of work.
Volunteers at the RAI must be at least 18 years old, with no upper age limit.
Volunteering opportunities at the RAI are usually fixed-term projects which are aligned with the aims of the RAI. These may take the form of one-off events or longer projects.
Volunteers are not a substitute for RAI employees and will not replace work done by paid staff. Relationships between staff and volunteers will be characterised by mutual trust and clear definition of their respective roles.
Recruitment
Volunteers are selected on the basis of skills, experience, interest, the RAI’s needs and capacity, and the person’s availability for a particular project.
The RAI will recruit volunteers for specific events or projects through open calls advertised through the RAI website and social media channels.
At other times, expressions of interest are welcome on a rolling basis. Expressions of interest should be addressed to the Office Manager by email and should include a CV and a short cover letter which outlines the person’s areas of interest and availability for volunteering.
Expressions of interest will be forwarded to the appropriate staff and will be considered based on the Institute’s needs and staff capacity as well as the suitability of the potential volunteer. If the relevant department has the capacity or need for volunteers, an informal in-person or online interview will be conducted before the confirmation of a volunteer placement is made.
If the relevant department has no immediate need for volunteers, the details of potential volunteers (including contact details, CV, and cover letter) will be kept for up to one year after the date on which they were submitted, and potential volunteers will be contacted if a new volunteering opportunity arises. If potential volunteers still wish to be considered more than a year after their initial expression of interest, they should send a new expression of interest by email to the Office Manager including an updated CV and cover letter.
Induction, training, support, and supervision
Volunteers will be assigned a member of RAI staff as a project supervisor. They will receive the necessary induction and training to support them to complete the agreed tasks. Volunteers do not provide a service to the RAI in exchange for their training.
Volunteers will have regular meetings and work closely with their project supervisor. They will not work alone on RAI premises, they will not represent themselves as a spokesperson for the RAI, make contracts for the RAI, or make any commitments on the RAI’s behalf.
Each project supervisor for a volunteering project must inform the Office Manager when and for how long the volunteers are working. The Office Manager will keep a log of these details so that there is a central record of volunteers.
At the end of a volunteer’s time at the RAI, the project supervisor will compile a brief report outlining the time frame, tasks and any special projects that the volunteer/intern worked on. The volunteer may request a reference from the project supervisor.
Expenses
The RAI will reimburse a volunteer’s travel expenses (with receipts) within the London area, by the cheapest means available, on days when the volunteer is providing in-person services to the RAI, unless these expenses are already covered or a special arrangement has been made.
Insurance
Volunteers carrying out their assigned tasks within the RAI premises are covered by the RAI’s Employers’ Liability insurance.
Problem solving
Volunteers should raise any initial concerns for informal discussion with their project supervisor. If they cannot be resolved, they should raise their concerns with the Assistant Director of Administration. Likewise, the project supervisor should raise concerns informally with the volunteer and if these cannot be resolved they should raise their concerns with the Assistant Director of Administration.
If concerns cannot be resolved both RAI and the volunteer may end their arrangement at any time with immediate effect.
Health and Safety
The RAI is committed to the safety of volunteers. Volunteers will be provided with health and safety training relevant to their tasks.
Equality and Diversity
The RAI is committed to equal opportunities. Volunteering opportunities are open to all regardless of age (over the age of 18); gender reassignment; marital or civil partnership status; pregnancy or maternity leave; disability; race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin; religion or belief; sex; or sexual orientation. The acceptance of a particular volunteer will be made on the basis of the suitability of the person for the tasks.
The RAI will discuss any needs of volunteers or prospective volunteers to identify their full and safe involvement, and the best opportunities available. The RAI will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of volunteers wherever possible.
Copyright, Data Protection, and Confidentiality
The RAI will retain copyright of any material produced by the volunteer for the RAI during their volunteering opportunity including photographs, film, and written material. However, the RAI will allow volunteers to use material which they produce during their volunteering opportunity for non-commercial purposes without charge, subject to the RAI’s standard ethics review process and suitable acknowledgement of the RAI.
Volunteers are expected to treat any information relating to the RAI, its membership and operations to which they may have access both during and after the volunteering opportunity as confidential.
The RAI will process volunteers’ personal data in accordance with the RAI ‘s privacy policy. The RAI will use their best efforts to ensure that volunteers understand who is collecting and controlling their data; the purpose and scope of the data collected; steps which the RAI takes to ensure the security of the data; who to contact if a volunteer has any questions related to their data.
Volunteers will also comply with the RAI’s Privacy Policy for any data which they collect, process, or handle during or after their placement.