FIELD DAY: UCL Qatar students in collaboration with Heritage Without Borders are undertaking archaeological excavations in Otrar, Kazakhstan.

University College London (UCL) Qatar’s 2015 class of Museum Studies, Conservation and Archaeology students are currently embarking on four week work placements at leading local, regional and international museums, art galleries and archaeological sites.
UCL Qatar is one of the world’s leading multi-disciplinary universities and the placements are a compulsory component of the Master’s degree programmes to enable students to gain outstanding experience in a work environment. Supported by UCL Qatar, students are encouraged to pursue a placement that fits with their academic interests.
Students were encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities available in the rapidly expanding cultural heritage sector of Qatar.  UCL Qatar, in partnership with Qatar Museums, arranged for students to take their placements at a number of prominent local museums including Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).
International destinations accepting the UCL Qatar Master’s degree students include London’s famous Natural History Museum and The British Museum, Barker Langham — a leading global cultural consultancy of cultural heritage projects, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASA), Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington DC, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Museum ür Islamische Kunst in Berlin and the Iziko Museum in South Africa.
For those seeking first-hand experience of archaeological excavations and heritage conservation, UCL Qatar students in collaboration with Heritage Without Borders are undertaking archaeological excavations in Otrar, Kazakhstan.
Wafa Suwaileh, a Qatari student from the MSc Conservation Studies degree programme, is taking her internship at the British Museum in London. “The aim of my overseas training is to gain first-hand experience in an international environment and to share my real-world knowledge. This internship is an opportunity to interact with conservation experts and enhance my practical skills in the laboratories. I’m also building my professional network with conservators and developing my communication skills with worldwide visitors to different exhibitions in the British Museum.”
Victoria Alexander, a MA Museum and Gallery Practice student opted to conduct her placement in South Africa. “I’m spending 4 weeks for my placement working in the Education and Public Programs department of the Iziko Museums in Cape Town. As many schools cannot afford the cost of travel to the museum, the outreach work by the Iziko ‘Mobile Museum’ bus is particularly important and I have been able to help at several outreach sessions at schools and a hospital already.  I have also been involved in activities for International Museum Day focusing on the theme of ‘Museums for a Sustainable Society’, and contributed in meetings on education and evaluation methods based on my experience from my Master’s degree.”
John Fisher, a MA Archaeology of the Arab and Islamic World student is currently in Otrar, Southern Kazakhstan working in collaboration with Heritage Without Borders, a unique charity working in developing countries to support heritage projects in situations of poverty, conflict and disaster.
“The internship so far has been wonderful. Our project director is making sure we are getting as much practical experience as possible and his knowledge on the archaeology of the area is fascinating.”
Graduates of the UCL Qatar programmes are being equipped with the knowledge and expertise to be future leaders in Qatar’s cultural heritage sector, as well as in Middle Eastern archaeology and heritage on a broader scale. UCL Qatar is currently accepting applications to all of its Master’s degrees and Diploma programmes for entry on August 30, 2015. The degree programmes vary between one and two years in length and can be taken on a full-time basis, or on a part-time basis, which is suitable for candidates who are currently in employment.
The application deadline is June 1 2015 and applications can be submitted online via the UCL Qatar website.
University College London was established in 1826 in order to open up education in England for the first time to students of any race, class or religion. Its founding principles of academic excellence and solution-driven research inform the university’s ethos to this day.
In opening UCL Qatar, UCL seeks not only to create the leading centre of excellence in the Gulf region for the study of archaeology, conservation and museology, but to bring cultural heritage to the fore. Through outreach programmes, school activities, and public lectures UCL Qatar is allowing the community to learn more about Qatar and the Gulf region’s archaeological and historical issues, and rich cultural past.