Industrial, technical an natural sites

Curators in the ‘Industrial, technical an natural sites’ specialism are responsible for the conservation, study, enhancement, promotion and dissemination of the scientific, technical or natural history collections in their care.

Working in natural history museums, science museums and regional nature parks, their role is to study the collections, conserve and enhance them and promote them to the widest possible audience.

The training programme for curatorial students in this specialism is coordinated by Judith Pargamin, Head Curator of Heritage and Director of the Museum of Lille, and includes contributions from heritage professionals.

Visite muséum d'histoire naturelle - Photo : INP

Visite séminaire des élèves conservateurs - Photo : Antonio Zuluaga / INP

Speciality work placements

The specialised training is supplemented by two work placements which place students in a professional situation so that they can carry out the tasks - design, supervision, project management - that will be entrusted to them as soon as they start work.

Specialised heritage internship - duration: 5 months

The aim of the internship is to prepare the student curator for his or her future role by working alongside the intern's supervisor to help him or her discover all aspects of the profession.

The trainee is also given a scientific project for which he or she is responsible and which must be delivered at the end of the course. This gives them the opportunity to experience the interaction between the scientific aspects of their job and their administrative responsibilities, while at the same time learning about the practical and human realities of their future role.

Internship abroad - duration: 6 weeks

This is an immersion course in a heritage institution in the trainee's field of specialisation.

The aim is to introduce trainees to working methods and approaches to heritage other than those used in their own country, and to encourage them to forge links with foreign curators who will be useful in their future careers, developing projects at an international level.

The choice of country for this work placement is made in consultation with the Inp's international relations department. Where appropriate, 2 of the 6 weeks take the form of a work placement on collections abroad, which the student carries out in the company of fellow students doing their work placement in the same country.