Dr Phani Kanta Mishra
Director in Heritage Cell, MAKAUT, WB and Ex-Regional Director, East, Archaeological Survey of India
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), WB, always yearns for excellence. Thus, in Heritage Cell, we wish to bring the tangible and intangible heritage of Bengal under the much needed scholarly attention through our courses on heritage, blogs and other academic events. The Heritage of Bengal comprises of features belonging to the culture, tradition, and languages of a particular society, as well as monuments and sites that were created in the past and still have historical importance. Thus, the Heritage Cell of MAKAUT aims to bring technical aspects of heritage studies like chemical conservation, and structural conservation along with theoretical aspects under one academic department.
Heritage is defined as historic, aesthetic, architectural, or culturally significant buildings, artefacts, structures, areas, and precincts, as well as natural features within areas of environmental significance or scenic beauty, such as sacred groves, hills, hillocks, water bodies (and the areas adjoining the same), open areas, wooded areas, and so on. It must be acknowledged that the 'cultural landscape' surrounding a heritage site is critical for the interpretation of the site and its built heritage, and is thus an integral part of it. The preservation of built heritage is widely regarded as being in society's long-term interest.As a result, there is a demand for experts in this field who can preserve historical monuments, temples, and other structures and keep them from being destroyed. There is also a scarcity of people with expertise in this field right now. In this context, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), West Bengal, has opened its own Heritage Cell since 2019 to bridge the professional gap and encourage the young generation to study Archaeology.MAKAUT is committed to skill development of the students and the spread of education among the young generation in order to improve their employability. With this goal in mind, MAKAUT's Heritage Cell is also introducing courses on Heritage, Conservation, and Restoration. These courses will be extremely beneficial to students seeking jobs in Conservation and Restoration/Archaeology/ Geology/ Anthropology in government/semi-government departments/NGOs in India or abroad.
The Heritage Cell of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University Technology (MAKAUT), WB was established with the vision of ensuring the future of heritage study in India. The Heritage Cell wishes to conduct interdisciplinary studies in conservation, tourism and archaeology to safeguard our tangible heritage, with the help of introducing courses, writing articles/blogs and arranging for lectures.It is for the first time in this country that such unique courses are being introduced by a University. It has been strongly felt that a good number of scholars, museum personnel & heritage enthusiasts are needed to build a strong foundation in the technical and theoretical aspects of heritage conservation. There has been a good demand in this field for such course in Heritage to train up the existing workforce. Upon completing our courses, the students will be able to:
I wish the Heritage Cell every success.
It has been strongly felt that good number of scholars, museum personal & heritage enthusiast is needed to build a strong foundation in the technical and theoretical aspect of the technology of conservation and there has been a good demand in the industry for a diploma course in heritage management and conservation to train up the existing workforce.
A comprehensive knowledge of the heritage of Kolkata (Calcutta), including foods, streets, communities, and everything.
Topic: Konark - An Enigma "How it was built and its mysteries" By Mr. Shivashankar Babu
Date: 20th December, 2021
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Topic: An interactive session with the winners of under-graduate essay competition
Date: 16th December, 2021
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