CCCPET celebrates 20th Anniversary with links to Indian heritage institutions

The UST Graduate School Center for Conservation of Cultural Property in the Tropics (USTGS-CCCPET) celebrated its 20th year with a Study Tour in India last 3-12 March, 2023. 

Established in 2003, the USTGS-CCCPET links the cultural heritage program of the university to national and international institutions that advocate heritage conservation and sustainable development.  

The Study Tour, with the theme “Heritage Commons”, was led by Dr. Eric Babar Zerrudo, CCCPET Director and assisted by Ms. Beverly Bautista, Center Coordinator. The contingent was composed of several Research Associates of USTGS-CCCPET, including Dean Gezzez Giezi Granado (Dean, UST-CTHM), Dr. Cheek Fadriquela (UST GS), Arch. Michael F. Manalo (UST GS), Arch. Caryn Paredes-Santillan (USTCA), Joselito H. Corpuz, John Christopher Mesana, Maria Victoria Punay.

On 9 March 2023, the University of Santo Tomas initiated a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Ahmedabad University. The ceremony was headed by Assoc. Professor Eric Zerrudo PhD of USTGS-CCCPET, Dean Gezzez Giezi Granado DCL, Dean of UST-CTHM,  Prof. Neel Kamal Chapagain PhD, Director, Centre for Heritage Management, and Prof. Devanath Tirupati PhD, the Executive Provost of Ahmedabad University. A discussion of possible future collaborations between both institutions was attended by the Deans of the International Centre for Space and Cosmology, the Amrut Mody School of Management, and the Centre for Heritage Management. Aside from the cultural tours within the city that Ahmedabad University organized, they also arranged for the UST group to experience the intangible cultural heritage of Kutch and study the Dholavira World Heritage Archaeological Site in the Tropic of Cancer, site of the Indus Valley Harappan civilization in Northwestern India bordering Pakistan. 

From Gujarat, the group proceeded to Dehradun in the state of Uttarakhand where they met with officials from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), particularly the UNESCO C2C Center for Wildlife headed by Dr Gautam Talukdar and Dr Anuranjan Roy. WII afforded the group a safari within the Rajaji Tiger Reserve located at the foot of the Himalayas. The UST team was also privileged to visit the Forest Research Institute wherein they explored the various collections of the timber museums. Following this, they traveled to Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu where they were warmly welcomed by Assoc. Prof. Arun Menon PhD of the India Institute of Technology Madras. They visited the IIT Madras Research Park in Tharamani. In addition, Dr. Menon facilitated the group’s visit to the Madras College of Law and the Madras High Court where he had ongoing conservation and engineering projects.

The USTGS-CCCPET looks forward to student and faculty exchanges and joint transdisciplinary research projects concerning natural, built and intangible heritage conservation.