Mehardeep Kaur is studying a Bachelor and Master of Economics double degree at UWA, and recently helped the State Records Office of Western Australia increase the accessibility of information through a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship.
“Working as a Research Intern at the State Records Office, I was able to prepare a guide to State Cabinet Records from 1992, and a communications plan to go along with it,” Mehardeep said.
“My work was particularly focused on providing greater accessibility of information for a variety of users including, but not limited to, government agencies, researchers, historians, and the general public; the archives are also digitised for users who may wish to access them remotely.
“The internship was particularly helpful in expanding my social and civic awareness. I gained and understanding of the SRO’s responsibility for maintaining transparency and accountability, which supports evidence-based decision making, and for preserving the State's historical legacy,” she said.
Mehardeep said that the highlight of the experience had been the work environment she was part of at the State Records Office, where she had the support and guidance of experienced researchers and archivists.
Gerard Foley, Senior Archivist at the State Records Office, said that Mehardeep had made an outstanding contribution through her internship as a positive, conscientious, and courteous member of the team.
“Mehardeep’s approach to the task before her was tackled in a very professional manner. She read around the subject at hand and the fact that she was a newly arrived international student did not stop her from becoming very conversant with the historical issues at play in WA in 1992.
“The result of Mehardeep’s work needed very little editing before publication and showed outstanding perception of the issues and the times.
“Through completing the draft Guide to 1992 State Cabinet Records, Mehardeep helped provide greater accessibility to these records is created benefitting the entire WA community. The SRO is all about enhancing access to Western Australian stories found in official archives of the State.”