The Hugo Grotius foundation would like students to investigate how their historic vessel can be maintained in a sustainable manner, using the right techniques and materials and, at the same time, can be best exploited for education and recreational purposes.
Update 2022: this internship was succesfully ended
The Hugo Grotius is a clipper from 1883 that is currently being restored in Arnhem on the shores of the Rhine. The ship is part of the Netherlands’ rich maritime history and heritage and transported cargo along the rivers of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium until 1997. Over the years many skippers and their families lived on the ship, constantly adapting it to their needs. The ship will be restored as a sailing clipper and its authenticity serves as an inspiration to think about craftsmanship, the preservation of knowledge, and innovative sustainability. In the future it will be used for cultural events and by educational institutions to educate young people and students.
The Hugo Grotius Foundation is looking for advanced students with a keen interest in preserving maritime heritage. Some examples of topics that university students could work on for their thesis or internship:
- Researching the possibilities and opportunities for heritage participation by volunteers and local people.
- Developing the concept of storytelling for the Hugo Grotius to help in its preservation and the dissemination of its history and the times in which the ship was in usage.
- Assessing the (potential) impact of the Hugo Grotius project in creating social added value for its stakeholders such as the province of Gelderland, the municipality of Arnhem, groups of people using the ship.
- Researching the possibilities to keep a ship like the Hugo Grotius in service financially, what kind of (inter)national subsidies exist for moveable heritage.
- Researching the history of the clipper Hugo Grotius. Even though a lot is already known about the ship, there is still a need to gather old photos, information on the lives of the skippers, the different adaptations the ship has gone through etc. to make a biography of the ship at a later stage. For this the student would have to do interviews and visit archives.
- Sustainable and inclusive exploitation. Once the ship is restored and sailing, how can you make sure that its usage and upkeep does not burden the environment? How can sustainable propulsion be implemented?