Educating future professionals in conservation science: The challenges of an interdisciplinary field

Abstract

Training and education paths in conservation science have been the subject of ongoing debate over the last two decades. A key issue is that conservation science, although not a new field, is not adequately defined, which leads to a lack of consensus regarding the competencies needed. During the ICCROM Forum 2013 on Conservation Science, education for conservation scientists was discussed, with a particular focus on those necessary competencies which exceed the scientific domain. This paper reflects on the outcomes of these discussions as well as the results of surveys carried out by ICCROM in preparation for the Forum on education, job advertisements, and the relationship between conservation professionals and science. Challenges identified included current professional paths, dissemination of scientific findings, use of specialized terminology, and the need for professionals who serve more than one area of specialization. These challenges could be viewed as an opportunity to revise and modify educational programmes. New interactive platforms could be used to facilitate participative science projects, and could change the way projects are carried out in the near future.

Interpersonal competencies define effective conservation leadership

“…The belief that conservation professionals have an understanding of the qualities and competencies of effective leaders simply because they have been trained in, and have experience with, leadership seems flawed. Conservation has a poor record in training future professionals in interpersonal leadership skills (Golfomitsou 2015), despite wide recognition of their importance (Pant and Baroudi 2008;Marques 2013). Training in leadership by experts from other sectors seems prudent.…”

The Dynamics of Collaboration in Heritage Science

“…Overall, these findings point to the benefits of experience and of the value of training and education in harmonising mental models that may have originally been quite different from each other. The importance of training programmes as a key source of scientific knowledge for heritage professionals was previously highlighted in the ICCROM Forum on Conservation Science in 2013 (Golfomitsou 2015).…”

“…The impossibility of a single professional having all of the necessary skills and expertise was pointed out by Chiari andLeona in 2005 (Chiari andLeona 2005) and has been reiterated since. The need for professionals with different backgrounds emerged as a key theme from the 2013 ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) Forum on Conservation Science (Brokerhof 2015;Golfomitsou 2015;Heritage and Golfomitsou 2015) and has been emphasised more recently by Strlic (Strlič 2018). This is part of a broader acknowledgement of the value of an interdisciplinary approach to complex, real-world problems (Holland 2014;Crowley et al 2018).…”

“…Such collaborative working is not straightforward. Issues such as differing language (Golfomitsou 2015) and differing priorities can all lead to misunderstandings and limit the effectiveness and impact of heritage science research. The importance of collaboration is often discussed and these issues have been raised many times.…”