Master of Science - Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation

2017/18)

Qualification goals of the M.Sc. Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation

The M.Sc. Master's program Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation pursues the following objectives:

Qualification goals in brief: The Master's programme in Digital Monument Technologies with Coburg University of Applied Sciences offers research and application-oriented teaching. You can choose the modules flexibly, i.e. set your own specialist focal points.

The degree programme enables you to understand current surveying, engineering, heritage science and information technology approaches and concepts. Among other things, you will evaluate processes of technical building and damage recording as well as building condition analysis and then develop solutions. In doing so, you will learn (3D) recording, archiving, analysis, monitoring, simulation, planning and communication procedures in the field of heritage conservation and protection. You carry out application-oriented projects in practice, for which you use current technologies.

The interdisciplinary degree programme aims at digital transformation in heritage consrevation and cultural heritage protection. It qualifies you to take on highly technical tasks in heritage conservation, architecture, engineering, in the museum and archive sector as well as in research at home and abroad. You have the opportunity to acquire chamber eligibility for German architectural chambers.

Scientific qualification

• After completing specialist modules in the Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation (DTHC) programme, graduates will have acquired the expertise to engage with and critically analyse a wide range of relevant topics (comprising various surveying, analysis and imaging procedures, as well as computer science applications). 
• In the programme’s lectures, seminars and practical application weeks, graduates will have actively applied a wide range of digital recording, monitoring, modelling, analysis, archiving and knowledge dissemination methods in the fields of heritage conservation and heritage protection, as well as in the field of construction in existing building stock. Graduates will be able to independently transfer their acquired knowledge to a broad spectrum of application areas and problems in practical engineering/construction as well as the archive and museum sector.
• Graduates will be skilled in practically applying digital technologies and methods of heritage conservation to a minimum of three individually selected areas of specialisation. These include Structural Simulation: Digital Modelling and Structures, Digital Modellingand Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Technologies for Building Preservation Sciences, Building Physics Assessment and Refurbishment, Monitoring and Digital System Analysis, Informatics for Cultural Studies, Programming Course for Cultural Studies and Web Technologies for DTHC.
• Master’s programme graduates will have further developed their academic profile and deepened their knowledge via the numerous combinations available when individually selecting modules. They will be able to carry out multi-perspective analyses, as learned from the cross-module analyses of buildings. One example is the Jakobikirche in Sangerhausen, which was digitally recorded in module M-DDT-V-3/M-DDT-P-3  (3D scan, tachymetry, analysis of structural damage) and statically analysed in module M-DDT-V-2/M-DDT-P-2.
• The integration of courses from different academic departments and institutions (e.g. Faculty Information Systems and Applied Computer Sciences, Heritage Conservation Studies, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts) enables graduates to work interdisciplinarily. Here, they also benefit from the networks and cooperative partnerships that many different institutions and subject areas maintain with both the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT), and with the master’s degree programme in Heritage Conservation. This allows graduates to analyse and evaluate complex interdisciplinary aspects of heritage sciences at the intersection of building ownership and institutions, heritage conservation and the graduate as a service provider.
• Upon completion of their studies, the writing of seminar papers and the master’s thesis will have prepared graduates to design a research project on a topic related to Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation, in which they discuss and apply acquired knowledge to a self-conceived question while employing and substantiating appropriate research methods.

Ability to pursue a skilled occupation

• Due to the international orientation of the programme and curriculum, and students’ participation in international conferences, field trips and summer schools, graduates are able to contribute to international expert discourse and are qualified to work on international projects or in international institutions and companies.
• Regarding the current standards in heritage conservation, after completion of the programme (and particularly due to participation in practical weeks and excursions during which current topics in the field of heritage conservation are discussed and explained), graduates will be qualified to critically evaluate new technical workflows, compile these in a task-oriented and solution-oriented manner, and to develop their full range of application, sustainability and networking possibilities (for example, the integration of a Historic Building Information Modelling / H-BIM workflow into the management of existing buildings).
• Based on their instruction in new digital procedures, graduates will be able to independently and critically evaluate new scientific methods as well as developmental prospects and problems in digital heritage technologies. They will be able to discuss these in an interdisciplinary manner and to develop new approaches to solving specific problems. As a result, graduates contribute to the integration of technological processes into heritage conservation and cultural asset protection.
• Graduates will have learnt to transfer knowledge acquired in the programme to various fields of practical application. This is achieved through knowledge exchange and transfer in both studies and teaching. Examples include visits to the Bamberg State Archives (in M-DDT-GL-7), the practical week at the Islamic Museum/Bumiller Collection or the Natural History Museum (M-DDT-GL-6 und M-DDT-GL-12), a visit to the cathedral office of Bamberg Cathedral (M-DDT-V-5) or establishing contact with medium-sized businesses in the region, such as the Bamberg stonemasons’ workshop (M-DDT-GL-6).

Personal development

• By participating in lectures, seminars and practical application weeks, graduates become acquainted with the theoretical and practical foundations of Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation and will be able to make critical assessments.
• By presenting their own approaches and research questions in individual seminar papers and the master's thesis, graduates will have sharpened their academic profile and will be able to devise object-oriented problem-solving approaches and plan their own projects.
• Depending on the completed bachelor's degree programme, the programme’s module combination options provide students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in line with personal needs and adapt it to different educational pathways. At the same time, our interdisciplinary orientation enables graduates to change their perspective and to access and appreciate other specialist fields.
• In the Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation programme, participants benefit from both our continuously growing regional network and from programme-relevant collaborations. The master’s programme provides graduates with the skills needed to work independently and cooperatively, to create an efficiently structured working environment and to acquire new knowledge and new methods in a self-organised and goal-oriented manner.
• Graduates will be adept at developing plans, devising implementation steps, working towards common goals and assuming responsibility in a team.
• Graduates will be able to discuss topics from the field of Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation both on an academic level and in a way that is comprehensible to a heterogeneous (lay) audience.
• Graduates will be able to assess their own abilities and will have developed a professional self-image.
• The focus of the programme is the assessment of the existing building stock, its material properties and the associated ageing behaviour of historical buildings and other heritage objects. Additionally, graduates will know the significance of the cultural assets as knowledge stores, historical sources and components of regional identities. Using their expertise, they will be able to explain this significance and actively contribute to a fruitful dialogue in the broader society.
• Graduates will be able to make scientifically sound decisions in the field of Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation both responsibly and in the democratic public spirit, and thus contribute to the protection of cultural assets.