On 14 September, ICCROM hosted a course session of the EPISCON project.

EPISCON (European Ph.D. in Science for Conservation) is a project funded by the European Community's Marie Curie programme. It is a collaborative project between 10 institutions in Europe, including universities, faculties of sciences, museum and conservation schools and institutes. The project offers 16 three-year fellowship for young scientists (Natural sciences) who wish to specialize in the area of cultural heritage conservation science.

EPISCON is a follow-up of previous initiatives carried out by ICCROM in collaboration with the University of Bologna, in particular the very successful CURRIC project, conceived and coordinated by Prof. Rocco Mazzeo in 2002-2003, during his period as project manager at ICCROM. The CURRIC project aimed at designing a curriculum for conservation science and contributing to clarify the role and professional profile of scientists involved in the conservation of cultural heritage.

Rocco Mazzeo is now working at the University of Bologna since 2003 and is responsible for the implementation of the EPISCON Project. Together with Dott.ssa Anna Missiroli, EPISCON Project Assistant, he accompanied the group of 16 scientists who also had the opportunity to visit the ICCROM Library and Laboratory. The main objective of the session was to introduce and discuss with EPISCON fellows key aspects of the broader (heritage) conservation community, from identifying major players and stakeholders to recognizing necessary resources and skills to successfully navigate within that community. The session further explored current challenges concerning the role of science in the conservation of cultural property, highlighting the importance of pro-active and interdisciplinary engagement of conservation scientists within the conservation community to maximize the impact of scientific research outputs.

Participants

• Eva Cechova, graduated in Chemical Technology, Czech Republic
• Patricio Chiriboga, graduated in Mechanical Engineering, Ecuador
• Oana-Adriana Cuzman, graduated in Environmental Management, Romania
• Mikiko Hayashi, graduated in Human Life and Environmental Science, Japan
• Kenza Kahrim, graduated in Chemistry, Canada
• Elsebeth Langholz Kendix, graduated in Chemistry, Denmark
• Timea Kovacs, graduated in Geology, Hungary
• Clara Morales, graduated in Chemistry, Spain
• Izabela Ozga, graduated in Physical Chemistry, Poland
• Gianluca Pastorelli, graduated in Natural Science, Italy
• Delphine Pouilley, graduated in Chemistry/Material Science, France
• Marta Quaranta, graduated in Chemistry, Italy
• Anna Ruggieri, graduated in Geology, Italy
• Ana-Bogdana Simionescu, graduated in Biomaterials engineering, Romania
• Vincenzo Starinieri, graduated in Geology, Italy
• Magdalini Theodoridou, graduated in Civil Engineering, Greece

ICCROM staff

• Catherine Antomarchi, Collections Unit Director
• Rosalia Varoli-Piazza, Senior Conservation Adviser
• José Luiz Perderseli, Research Scientist
• Ernesto Borrelli, Laboratory Co-ordinator
• Paul Arenson, Documetnation, Library and Archives Manager
• Webber Ndoro, Project Manager, AFRICA 2009

Member States represented: Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Spain

updated on: 22 June, 2010