The transformations (societal, economic and technological) which emerged since the 1990s affected also the sector of cultural heritage protection and management (changes in conceptual basis, technological tools, legislation, scientific background, education, development of new forms of market-based heritage expert services). HERISTEM strategic partnership is created with the aim to meet these challenges and to overcome shortcomings of the university curricula where the ‘heritage’ disciplines (archaeology, art history, ethnology, history...), are still traditionally taught mostly for academic/research purposes. To this end, the most important task of the project is more systematic incorporation of STEM knowledge in education and research in heritage discipline. Recent achievements of STEM in understanding the nature and characteristics of different materials, inorganic and organic, humans, animals, plants etc., have demonstrated great potential for increasing our understanding of cultural heritage, and, hence, for developing better strategies for its protection and management. The ‘central’ discipline in HERISTEM project is archaeology. As the most interdisciplinary of all heritage disciplines it deals with different material/physical aspects of various objects of heritage, ranging from small objects, architecture, objects of art, to cultural landscapes, covering so most of the field of cultural heritage. In addition to this, it is the archaeological heritage which is today threatened the most by spatial development, and required best possible experts. HERISTEM is conceived as a strategic partnership for implementing STEM sciences in university curricula of heritage disciplines. Today, there are no single department or institute in Europe which can effectively educate students in all domains of knowledge and methods needed in contemporary heritage research, STEM topics included. By creating a partnership, our project aims to provide effective transfer of knowledge, skills and good practices, primarily for the students of heritage disciplines, increasing so their capacities in job markets. But this process is two-way; also the STEM students will have more chances to pursue their careers in the heritage domains. Last, but not least, HERISTEM partnership is also aimed at additionally assisting to the initiative for accreditation of joint MA degree in ‘applied archaeology (PROARCHE) of the Universities of Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Sarajevo, which is planned in next few years. The partners are 6 universities (Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Koeln, and Cambridge), 1 museum (Serbia) and 2 private enterprises (Slovenia and Croatia). By joining their capacities and expertise the HERISTEM partnership is able to provide effective coverage of all major STEM topics currently required in the professional heritage sector. Museum and two private enterprises were selected as the most likely types of institutions for further professional careers of students, and for training them in actual working environments. Is expected that more than 700 BA and MA students of various heritage-oriented disciplines will be reached directly, and much more indirectly (with online courses and materials). The principal teaching/learning activities: a) 5 intensive courses (7 working days each): intensive teaching (70 – 100 hours; 25 – 30 students; 4 – 6 teachers) of STEM topics in heritage (bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology, remote sensing, GIS, laboratory analyses of materials, data computation, museography). b) 2 seminars, (a) for staff training in e-teaching tools and (b) a seminar in entrepreneurship and job markets in heritage sectors (for students and junior staff). c) Blended student mobility; aimed at individual students to upgrade their knowledge obtained at intensive courses, ‘hybrid mobility’, a program combining studying and practical assignments at private enterprises. d) teachers mobility; short training for increasing capacities. e) production of teaching materials for e-teaching platform. Other activities (conference, exhibition, publications ...) are aimed to support and disseminate the results of the major teaching/learning activities. The principal results of the projects will be students mastering new methods and techniques (STEM-related) who will also get experiences in professional working environments. New BA, MA and PhD thesis induced by the project are expected. Teachers will upgrade their knowledge and create new networks, significantly increasing interdisciplinarity of the university curricula. Potential long-term benefits include the enriched knowledge of students, future professionals, and teachers. Partners will definitely continue and expand their collaboration (e.g. joint e-teaching platform will remain in use after the project; initiative for MA joint degree in 'applied archaeology'). Improved teaching will also reflect in the professional heritage sector.
Since a comprehensive coverage of most of the relevant STEM skills and methods in the heritage domain is not possible on the level of an individual HE institution, the main aim of the project HERISTEM has been to create a stable environment for developing a comprehensive coverage of the relevant novel skills and knowledge for students from all partner universities. Each partner was tasked with a particular domain of expertise (remote sensing, geoarchaeology, bioarchaeology, etc.), offering to the students and staff of the partner institutions the possibility to gain insight into the content not habitually offered by the curriculum of the home institution. The teaching material produced during the project implementation and the e-learning platform have been aimed at creating an online public resource for future teaching. Finally, the exchange in the framework of the project was aimed at creating better future conditions for a long-term project of establishing a joint degree on the regional level (Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia) covering the majority of the relevant STEM-related skills in training of archaeologists and other heritage specialists.
Over the last decade, the rapid developments in the application of STEM-derived methods and techniques in heritage disciplines, especially in archaeology, has created the need to innovate the HE curricula and to enable students to master novel skills necessary to meet the demands of the best research practices. Since various STEM-related specializations demand highly skilled teachers and adequate infrastructure, it is impossible for a single HE institution to competently cover this vast area of study. The HE institutions gathered in this consortium all specialize in a particular STEM area. The partner institutions have already collaborated on various levels and established good working relations. The project was aimed at creating a synergy, exchanging knowledge, experience, and resources, in order to offer to students of all HEs involved a more comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in the domain of STEM in heritage sciences. Three partners with vast practical experience in implementing STEM-related techniques in archaeological fieldwork are included in order to offer the most efficient hands-on training.