Unlocking Digital Skills at Collection Sites. An Educational Program on Object Digitization at Jena University

Given the increasing demand for digital expertise in digitization projects, it is crucial to provide students with the opportunity to acquire skills in object handling, cataloging, digital object photography, and data enrichment. However, educational programs focusing on these competencies are currently lacking, particularly in central Germany. DigiKulTh (Digital cultural workbench Thuringia, 04/24-03/26) is a project funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre at the Thuringian University and State Library Jena (ThULB). The project aims to establish a sustainable educational program on object digitization, catering primarily to students in cultural and humanities disciplines at Jena University. The program consists of a certified two-week "basic training" and a study-accompanying internship lasting four to twelve weeks, depending on the students' needs. The training will be delivered by experienced ThULB staff members with expertise in digitalization projects. The internships will take place at various collection sites within Jena University with a large range of object types, spanning disciplines such as Art History, History of Medicine, Mineralogy, and Physics. Additionally, there will be ongoing supplementary offerings, including half-day workshops and tutorials covering relevant topics such as data wrangling, transcription of cursive script, and the utilization of Wikidata. The poster will present an overview of the project, details of the program, and the outcomes of the initial round of implementation conducted in August and September '24.