CSIC High Specialization Course on Cultural Heritage Intervention Models: Research, Protection, Conservation and Valorization: A training Experience from a complex research programme.

Abstract

In late 2007 the then called Ministry of Education and Science funded the Research Program on Technologies for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage (TCP) within the CONSOLIDER -INGENIO 2010 call. In it 16 research groups take part, from the CSIC and 4 Spanish universities, articulating traditionally distant disciplines directly involved with Cultural Heritage. The base for working is the culture of cooperation and collaboration between groups in an interdisciplinary way. TCP was the only funded proposal of the call that focused on the study of Cultural Heritage. One of the main objectives of the project included training, so after valorizing different options, it was finally decided to opt for a CSIC High Specialization Course model. The aim was to create a postgraduate training strategy for preparing, in a truly specialized way, professionals with technical or scientific profile, who can become the best professionals working on cultural heritage. This course was an alternative possibility, different from formal university education. It also benefited from greater freedom in designing the course, choosing the participating teachers, and establishing the relationship between practical and theoretical aspects. This goal lies at the very foundations of the Consolider call and more specifically, also within TCP: strengthen and highlight the link between the interdisciplinary research, the professional practice and the social visibility of research through training, dissemination and knowledge transfer.