Master of Arts in Architectural Conservation
NEWS AND EVENTS
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General Assembly of the World Urban Heritage Conservation Higher Education Alliance (UHC‑HEI)
The first General Assembly of the World Urban Heritage Conservation Higher Education Alliance (UHC‑HEI) was held on 24 October 2025 in Shanghai, China. This new network united 53 institutions from 21 countries, including our MA Architectural Conservation program, into a new global institutional network to advance interdisciplinary cooperation and exchange for urban heritage conservation. The General Assembly endorsed the Basic Charter and elected its inaugural Steering Committee, representing the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and International Organisations, to guide collaborative initiatives. The NUS MA Architectural Conservation Programme was elected to serve as a member of the Steering Committee.
Highlight and summary of the first UHC-HEI General Assembly on Friday, October 24, 2025, at WHITR-AP Shanghai is here.
UHC-HEI member institutions are:
Arab States
International University of Rabat, UNESCO Chair Historic Urban Landscape, Morocco
Asia–Pacific
University of Melbourne, Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH), Australia
Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), China
Woxsen University, School of Architecture and Planning, India
National University of Singapore, MA Architectural Conservation Programme, Singapore
Southeast University, China
Europe
École de Chaillot, France
Portucalense University, Department of Architecture and Multimedia Gallaecia, Portugal
University of Seville, School of Architecture, Spain
Abdullah Gül University, Faculty of Architecture, Turkey
Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
University College London, UK
University of Westminster, UK
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel (Europe group in UNESCO regional system)
Belleville School of Architecture, France
ETSAM – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
University of Belleville, France
Latin America
University of Cuenca, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Ecuador
International Organizations
International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA)
UNESCO Chairs (10 represented across institutions)
WHITR‑AP Shanghai, under the auspices of UNESCO
The Secretariat of UCH-HEI is at WHITR-AP Shanghai, Tongji University, 3F Wen Yuan Building, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, P.R.China
Signing Ceremony of MoU between Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea and National University of Singapore
We are pleased to announce that an MoU was signed on 25th March 2024 in Buyeo County, South Korea between Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea (KNUCH) and Department of Architecture at NUS. The agreement pertains to the Master of Arts in Architectural Conservation Programme (MAArC) and KNUCH International Cultural Heritage Studies.
Prof. Heng Chye Kiang, the Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation at the College of Design and Engineering (CDE), is representing NUS, while Prof. Young Jae Kim, the Dean of the Graduate School of Cultural Heritage, is representing KNUCH.
Collaboration Agreement in Architectural Conservation Education Between Wuhan University and National University of Singapore
On September 18th, 2023, Wuhan University School of Urban Design and the National University of Singapore College of Design and Engineering, Department of Architecture, agreed to collaborate closely in Architectural Conservation education during a visit by Wuhan University delegates led by Dr. HUANG Taiyan. The delegation included A/P ZHENG Jing, Program Director of the Master of Architecture in Architectural Heritage Studies at the School of Urban Design. NUS was represented by Prof Susana Leong, Vice Provost for Master’s Programmes & Lifelong Education, and A/P Johannes WIDODO, Director of Graduate Programs in Architectural Conservation. The meeting took place at NUS University Town.
UN-ADERA Inaugural Symposium and Meeting
//27 & 28 July 2020
Department of Architecture will host the AUN-ADERA Inaugural Symposium and Meeting on 27 & 28 July 2020. Co-convened by Prof Wong Yunn Chii and Pro Cheah Kok Ming, ADERA is a sub-network of the ASEAN Universities Network (AUN).
In this Symposium, twenty-one regional schools (twenty-three speakers) will participate to share and exchange experiences in the architecture field. The two key note speakers, Prof Masami Kobayashi and Ar Teh Joo Heng, will share their experiences working on the ‘iconic’ and ‘everyday’ modern respectively; and the issues that arise from them.
NUS and UNESCO establish chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia
// 20th May 2020
Congratulations to Professor Ho Puay Peng.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have announced the establishment of the UNESCO Chair on Architectural Heritage Conservation and Management in Asia. Professor Ho Puay Peng, Head of Department of Architecture at the NUS School of Design and Environment, was appointed as the Chairholder on 12 May 2020.
>> Read more here.
UNESCO-NUS “Meeting on Strengthening Collaboration between Asian Universities for Cultural Heritage Management Education”
// 26 March 2019
To promote university cooperation to strengthen cultural heritage education among Asian universities, UNESCO and the National University of Singapore (NUS), Department of Architecture organised a two-day meeting to gain understanding in existing cultural heritage management curricula and learning outcomes and to identify areas and modality for collaboration among Asian universities with cultural heritage management curriculum on 25-26 March 2019 at the School of Design and Environment 4, NUS. This meeting was generously supported by UNESCO, the Korean Funds-in-Trust, and Department of Architecture, NUS. Starting with a focus on translating the recently drafted competency framework for cultural heritage management to academic learning outcomes mainly in Southeast Asian context, the participants continued to discuss the role of this framework to benefit universities in the region and beyond in designing qualification standards, training programmes and curricula to meet on-the-ground needs in cultural heritage management and conservation.
The dynamic discussion among participants in NUS has indeed contributed significantly to the current and future cultural heritage management curriculum and collaboration opportunities among universities, enriching the content of the competency framework as well as clarifying its overall structure.
Heritage Management International Field School
//2016 – 2018
Since 2012 School of Design and Environment have successfully organized six Heritage Field
Schools/ Workshops based at Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Asian Architectural and Urban Heritage (TTCL) in Malacca and School of Design and Environment (SDE), National University of Singapore (NUS). The proposed Field School in ‘Cultural Heritage Management’ will continue on the strength of previous Field School/ Workshop, which was mainly based on learning about material conservation (tangible heritage).
The Field School aims to extend the knowledge to understand the significance of intangible heritage (communal values) conservation as a vital part of holistic historic urban landscape management. Through a combination of lectures, field‐trips, case studies and direct community interactions, students will learn the general principles and practices of the field of heritage management while immersing themselves in a range of places and issues across the port city of Songhkla in Thailand.
