Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

able to follow whatever course my career path has taken me,with the enthusiastic support of my supervisor and coordinatorof the Episcon project. I have been able to participate inscientifi c conferences, workshops and courses, such as theconservation science conference held in Milan in 2007 and theHSC5 (Hercules Specialised Courses): ‘Synchrotron Radiationand Neutrons for Cultural Heritage Studies’ held in 2007 at theEuropean Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. This hasenhanced my scientifi c knowledge and experience in the fi eld,preparing me for a future career in the scientifi c community.Working in the host institution has not been frictionless butrather a case of north meeting south concerning workethics, communications, humour, differences in educationalbackground and professional expectations.’Brain gain on an international scaleThe involvement of non-EU researchers from Colombia, Canadaand Japan, hosted respectively at the Iasi University in Romania,the University of Perugia in Italy and the National Institute forConservation in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, broadened theknowledge pool: everyone was able to learn from culturallydifferent approaches to the preservation of cultural heritage.And, of course, the new skills learned during Episcon weretransported to very distant parts of the globe once the Fellowsmoved on. The project also crossed borders, with Fellowsparticipating in dissemination actions not only across Europebut in the Far East as well.‘The Episcon project highlights the need for an academiccurriculum specifi cally devoted to the education of conservationscientists. This need is based on the observation that during recentdecades the interest of the scientifi c community in conservationand restoration has increased due to a growing understandingthat the causes of deterioration, the characterisation of thestate of conservation, and the development and testing of newconservation-restoration materials and methods are a priority forthe correct safeguarding of cultural heritage,’ explains ProfessorRocco Mazzeo of the University of Bologna.He feels this trend is likely to continue as the scientifi c communityinvolved is shifting its interest from the application of analyticaltechniques aimed at gaining a profound knowledge of theconstitution of heritage materials and of ancient productiontechniques, to problem-solving approaches to conservation.274