Abstract:

Ten years after the implementation of the Bologna Plan in the conservation-restoration training programs in Spain, the BA in Conservation (GCRBBCC) study plan at Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) was recently revisited and the learning outcomes were redefined. The competences agreed are now in line with the European standards according to the document 'Competences to access the profession of Conservator-Restorers' (2013) edited by the European Confederation of Conservators-Restorers Organizations (E.C.C.O.) as with other relevant documents produced by the European Network for Conservation Restoration Education (ENCoRE).

This paper defines the professional profile of conservator-restorers and presents the strategies carried out by the authors to train students according to the needs demanded by the conservator-restoration profession at an international level. The different activities designed are aimed to make the student be able to:
- recognize the constituent materials and the processes of creation of cultural objects
- apply the instruments and examination methods and materials to document cultural object
- diagnose their state of conservation,
- understand the legal framework behind the interventions carried out to preserve cultural heritage,
- apply the deontological code and health and safety standards to the conservation and restoration field
- plan the conservation treatment based on the object’s condition and the nature of the materials,
- develop the skills needed to treat the object(s)
- apply preventive conservation measures.

Diagnosing and planning conservation treatments involves a higher cognitive level and requires that the student has developed a balanced, broad and multidisciplinary criterion. The design of activities based on different active methodologies, contributes to the comprehensive training of students and prepare them for their immersion in an interdisciplinary labor market and where the professional competence is determined not only by the ability to execute different conservation treatments but for being able to participate in the decision-making process and in the design of conservation strategies to preserve valued objects.

The project presented here highlights the complexity behind the training of GCRBBCC students as well as the scarcity of teaching and/or didactic tools available to teachers, especially to train the cross-cutting competencies needed to complement the skills, knowledge and hands-on practice acquired during the training and that help them have a more comprehensive and specific professional profile.

Keywords:

Methodological Strategies, Cross-cutting Competences, Conservation-restoration.