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After its second year, the Curtin Library Internship Program continues to show how it plays a unique role in strengthening the connection between Curtin students and the academic library sector, while providing valuable learning opportunities to the students.
The 6-week internship, delivered in partnership with the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM), Libraries, Archives, Records and Information Science (LARIS), and managed by Curtin Library, provides future library professionals with authentic and project-focused industry experience in a supportive environment. This year, we were delighted to welcome intern Ella D’Cruz, a Master of Information Science student, whose internship focused on enabling the development of fundamental skills in research data management (RDM).
Ella worked on a substantial applied project: migrating and redesigning an introductory RDM learning module to H5P, an open-source tool for creating interactive online learning content. The module, designed for HDR students and early career researchers, introduces foundational concepts in data management such as the FAIR Principles and supports the Library’s broad suite of researcher support offerings.
Working with H5P for the first time allowed her to apply concepts from her Master’s studies to real researcher-facing learning design. “I’ve only ever been on the receiving end of designed [educational] content,” she reflected. “Getting to create it – and seeing what works – was really satisfying.” One of her key learnings was navigating the balance between pedagogical theory, user experience, previous design decisions, and collegial input – an essential skill in research support environments where teamwork and iterative decision-making are the norm. Succeeding at this balancing act was all worthwhile – her proudest moment was delivering her final presentation: “Putting all my work together made me realise how much I’d actually produced, and the response from everyone made me feel the work was genuinely valuable.”
While the module formed the core of the project, the internship also provided a rich immersion into Research Services librarianship as a distinct domain of academic libraries. Ella spoke often about the breadth of expertise she encountered within the Research Services team, describing Research Services as a “library melting pot” bringing staff with diverse professional backgrounds and specialist skills together to support researchers across Curtin.
The Curtin Library Internship continues to demonstrate the strength of collaboration between LARIS and the Library, offering students valuable experience in the complex, specialised, and rewarding world of research librarianship. On its anticipated launch in 2026, Ella’s work on the Introduction to RDM module will be a valuable addition to the Library’s resources for researchers, and her reflections highlight just how transformative this kind of industry-connected experience can be.
We wish Ella all the best in her future career!
Written by John Brown, Research Services Coordinator
