Co-Chairs’ Reflection
There is lots happening in museums and some of the most imaginative, innovative and bold work is being done by you – by university museums and galleries. But that’s not always well known enough – even within our own community or by our host universities. So in 2026 we want to continue to build on, measure and publicise our successes, to reinforce our distinctiveness and value and to inform good practice within the museum sector – through experiment and evaluation and our ability to create two way bridges between researchers and communities. These are difficult times, but they’re also exciting.
We’re very grateful to members of the UMG Executive for their guidance and support. In particular, we’d like to thank Janneke Geene, who has served as treasurer and is now stepping down. We’d very much welcome expressions of interest to become her successor. Esme too will be stepping down as Co-Chair, though not leaving Exec. So this is also the time to nominate her successor. Please contact umg@fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk to do so.
Conference case studies
The case studies from the 2025 conference at Trinity College, Cambridge, can now be read on the UMG website. We feature Alyson Hallett and Claudia Hildebrandt on ethical practices with geological collections at the University of Bristol, Gina Koutsika on Visitor Experience team training in Oxford, a reflection by Emily Bradfield on collaborative museum practice in Cambridge, and Miranda Stearn from Lancaster on methods for innovation in university museums that demonstrate their value.
The UMG will continue to highlight case studies from our member institutions more broadly to support connectivity across the sector and to advocate effectively for our members. If you would like to share a project or piece of work or an object story we all might like to see, please send it to umg@fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk to be featured in our newsletter or on our LinkedIn group!
Away Day
The UMG Exec had a productive meeting in September in London at the Royal College of Music, generously hosted by Gabriele Rossi Rognoni. Using further case studies as our starting point, topics of discussion included developments in digital technology and AI, the role of museums in politically complex and challenging times, and how best to demonstrate the specific contributions of university museums.
Out of this meeting emerged a plan to create a document showcasing the particular strengths of UMG museums, using both qualitative and quantitative information drawn from across members. We will have more news of that project shortly. Goals to create more frequent members-wide networking and resource sessions were also set, and we will distribute a set of questions to discover members’ preferences in the new year.
‘Creative Placemaking and Inclusive Innovation’
A collaborative round-table between UMG, UUK, UMIS and RLUK took place in Leeds, organised by Exec member Layla Bloom, on 12 December. The discussion was themed around ‘Creative Placemaking and Inclusive Innovation’ further to demonstrate impact and explore methods of collaboration and participation with community and civic partners. Notes from this meeting will be available on the UMG website and further questions can be directed to Layla.
Current projects
Advocacy Document – 2026
The UMG is currently working on an advocacy document that will efficiently explain our purpose, our value and our particular sector needs to industry leaders, funding bodies and external bodies more broadly. This advocacy document will include data about the UMG, including quantitative statistics about our membership and the things we research, present and care for, but we will also feature qualitative stories to show the tremendous breadth and depth of the group. We hope to tie details of projects to particularly important or emblematic objects or specimens in your collections, so our stakeholders can learn about the extraordinary range of our research-informed, audience-focused and collections-led projects. If you have a story that could be featured in this document, please get in touch: umg@fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. And we may well get in touch with you!
UMG Conference 2026
The 2026 Conference is currently in its early stages of organisation, and a date and location will be available for members soon. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there!
