Integrated project work

The course will provide students with some fundamental principles, instructions and practices necessary for the research project design, relying on various research scenarios and experiences having heritage as working context. In particular:
- when, why and how real life problem becomes a research problem?
- critical assessment of bibliography
- critical use of adopted research techniques and methods (quantificative or qualitative)
- principles of interdisciplinary work

Students are expected to develop the first draft of the research proposal with fundamental readings for feedback and review before the beginning of the course.
No other specific prerequisites are required except from positive and reasonable attitude and full and equal participation in classes in order to fully assess the participation and responsibility of individual students.

The main objective of this course is to apply student’s overall knowledge and skills acquired during the first year of the course to their own research project. Hence, thematic field and additional (guest )lectures may differ each year. However the following aspects will be covered:
- understanding theoretical, practical and ethical issues in research work;
- familiarization with concepts, paradigms, examples;
- development and framing of research questions;
- illustration of different research methodologies (illustrated by guest speakers);

The skills acquired should allow students to engage critically with their own research interests by learning the basic steps, actions and effects necessary to design and built up their own research context.
In particular:
- to identify, understand, demonstrate core intellectual goals
- to transfer gained knowledge, new trends and other relevant facts and data into a research challenge and finally research project
- to gain awareness of the potentialities and complications behind research design
- to gain awareness of responsibilities (ethical dimension) that are inherent to research career
- to obtain practice in team work and open discussions
- to develop skills in communicating own ideas, knowledge, facts and data to other peers

The readings and bibliography will be given during the lectures in line with the students’ thematic field and course’s research trend.

75% Seminar work with discussion in order to evaluate the ability of representation and interpretation of different contexts within a selected practical problem (grades will be assessed on class participation, final report, creativity). 25% Written exam, which assesses knowledge of the fundamental concepts.

Saša Dobričič is founding director of the doctoral programme in Economics and Techniques for the Conservation of Architectural and Environmental Heritage, which has been jointly established by the University of Nova Gorica and University IUAV of Venice. She is vice-president of UNISCAPE (European Network of Universities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention) and an IAES (International Academy for Environmental Sciences) scientific committee member. Her research interests and contributions are related to the interpretation of urban phenomena in relation to landscape, heritage and environment. She has promoted several international meetings and initiatives within her research field: in 2010, Creative Cities, which historic urban landscape? In 2012, Common Goods: out of property which rights for users? In 2013 The ‘New Urban World’. Future Challenge and Response’ of Urban Systems in Motion, organised in collaboration with JPI Urban Europe.