ISIPH Research Laboratories Concludes First Edition: Transformative Learning and Institutional Synergy
- Cátedra Eduardo Lourenço Universidade Aix-Marseille
- il y a 6 jours
- 6 min de lecture
Goa, November 29, 2025
The First Edition of ISIPH Research Laboratories (Exchanging Skills) concluded on November 26, 2025, marking the successful completion of an intensive three-day training program that exceeded expectations with last-minute registrations and transformative learning experiences. After the Conference session by Professor João Paulo Oliveira e Costa on the 20-21th November, the formative sessions held November 24-25th at Fundação Oriente in India, and field session on the 26th at Old Goa and MoCA Museum, generated remarkable enthusiasm among participants, who brought diverse academic backgrounds and professional expertise from across Goa and Mumbai.
Practical Epigraphy at Monte Sacro (Old Goa)
A pivotal last-minute adjustment to the on-site training session proved invaluable to the learning outcomes. Rather than limiting field work to museum interpretation, the session continued to a specialized practical epigraphy training at the ruins of the Augustinian convent on Monte Sacro in Old Goa, led by Professor Ernestine Carreira after the session in collaboration with Dr. Fátima Gracias and Professor Anuradha Wagle, allowing participants to examine tumular stones and apply the palaeographic and epigraphic methodologies taught in the preceding classroom sessions. This field setting transformed theoretical knowledge into hands-on practice, with participants reading and interpreting actual historical inscriptions in their authentic archaeological context.
The experience demonstrated the vital connection between desk-based archival work and the material heritage that surrounds Goa's historic monuments, embodying the laboratory's core philosophy of experiential learning. Participants developed practical competencies in palaeography and epigraphy essential skills for primary research in historical archives and the interpretation of stone inscriptions that constitute irreplaceable sources for Indo-Portuguese history.
Heraldic Sessions
This session, in collaboration with Professor Luis Cabral de Oliveira and Professor Parag Parobo, turned to analysis of heraldic traditions and legal structures. It Provided deeper insight into how colonial systems were adapted in Goan society, while comprehensive heritage interpretation methodology grounded participants in global best practices and local contextual realities. A deliberate effort to unite heraldry as theoretical science with practical application proved particularly effective; participants engaged with concrete Goan coat of arms in collaborative sessions that demonstrated how heraldic principles manifest in actual historical objects and family emblems from the colonial period. This integration of abstract methodological knowledge with specific case studies from Goa's cultural patrimony enabled participants to understand both the universal principles governing heraldic representation and the distinctive characteristics that emerged from the encounter between Portuguese heraldic conventions and local artistic traditions.
Heritage Legislation and Critical Preservation Thinking
Sessions led by professor Mónica Esteves Reis with collaboration with Dr. Natasha Fernandes from MoCA Museum, addressed heritage legislation and the history of conservation and restoration practices, aimed to equip participants with frameworks essential for heritage stewardship. A comprehensive tour through the early history of conservation and restoration methodologies, guided by expert insights into international frameworks established by UNESCO and ICOMOS, alongside Goa's recently adopted Heritage Policy 2025, enabled participants to explore the critical questions that preservation agents must ask themselves. Dr. Natasha Fernandes last session proved essential for contextualization throughout these discussions, drawing upon her extensive experience as curator of the Museum of Christian Art to illustrate how theoretical principles translate into institutional practice and decision-making, grounding abstract policy frameworks within the concrete realities of heritage management in Goa applied to museum and specialized tourism experience.
Participant Feedback and Future Directions
Participants unanimously emphasized the necessity of such formative initiatives as essential complements to traditional academic training. The intensive workshop format, combining theoretical instruction with practical application and fieldwork, generated invaluable learning outcomes that doctoral programs alone cannot provide. Participants offered substantive suggestions regarding themes and topics they wish to see addressed in future iterations, indicating strong interest in continuing this annual platform.
Consolidation at MoCA: Knowledge in Bidirectional Circulation
The closing session held at the Museum of Christian Art (MoCA) brought essential clarity to the initiative's foundational philosophy. The presentation on heritage dissemination and promotion showcased how institutions function as dynamic hubs rather than repositories. Expert-guided tourism models and collaborative outreach programs exemplified the intersection of scholarly rigor and public accessibility that defines contemporary heritage work. The roundtable discussion involving all trainers and local partners reinforced a critical realization: progress in heritage studies and preservation is only possible when knowledge circulates bidirectionally.
Institutional Collaboration as Foundation
The success of this first edition demonstrates that meaningful advancement in Indo-Portuguese heritage research requires genuine dialogue between institutions and researchers across multiple countries and disciplinary perspectives. The participating institutions, Fundação Oriente – Goa Delegation, Goa University, the Museum of Christian Art (MoCA), UMR IMAF-CNRS, Cátedra Eduardo Lourenço-Camões IP-MMSH, Aix-Marseille Université (amU), Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies (DPEB), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (CHAM, UNESCO Chair "The Ocean's Heritage"), Universidade de Leiria (Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, CEDIS), demonstrated that institutional autonomy and collaborative strength are not contradictory.
The laboratory model reveals that authentic knowledge exchange occurs not through hierarchical knowledge transfer from "expert centres" to "recipient peripheries," but rather through sustained engagement where European research centres, Indian scholars, local heritage professionals, and young researchers contribute distinct perspectives and expertise. Portuguese archival methodologies informed by centuries of palaeographic tradition enhance Indian researchers' capacity to access their own historical materials; simultaneously, Goan historians' contextual knowledge and understanding of local heritage realities challenge and enrich European scholarly frameworks.
Building Momentum for Annual Continuation
The first edition of ISIPH Research Laboratories has established a proven model for sustained international scientific cooperation. Organizers confirmed their commitment to developing this initiative as an annual platform for knowledge exchange, responding to participants' explicit demand for continuation and adaptation based on emerging research needs in Indo-Portuguese heritage studies.
This pioneering initiative, supported by 50 years long expertise from the historical International Seminars on Indo-Portuguese History, represents a paradigm shift in international academic collaboration, demonstrating that advanced training in heritage methodologies requires the integration of European research infrastructure and methodological expertise, Indian institutional resources and local knowledge systems, and the engagement of younger researchers whose career trajectories depend upon access to comprehensive, contextually grounded professional formation.
The ISIPH Research Laboratories First Edition has concluded, but the network it established and the dialogue it initiated will continue to generate collaborative research projects, international publications, and a new generation of heritage scholars equipped to approach Indo-Portuguese materials with both methodological rigor and critical awareness of the complex histories embedded in Goa's extraordinary heritage.
HOST INSTITUTIONS
Fundação Oriente – Goa Delegation
Paulo Gomes
MoCA Museum
Natasha Fernandes
ORGANIZING PARTNERS
Dean – School of International and Area Studies
Anuradha Wagle
D.D. Kosambi School of Social Sciences and Behavioural Studies
Parag Parobo
Aix-Marseille Université – IMAF-MMSH
Ernestine Carreira
Aix-Marseille University – Chaire Eduardo Lourenço
Fátima Gracias
Mónica Esteves Reis
Universidade de Lisboa – Cátedra UNESCO “O Património Cultural dos Oceanos”
João Paulo Oliveira e Costa
Universidade de Leiria, Centro de Investigação e Desenvolvimento sobre Direito e Sociedade-CEDIS
Luis Cabral de Oliveira
FIRST EDITION MEMBERS
All confirmed attendees (pre-registered and walk-ins) in at least one session from 21st to 26th November, in alphabetic order:
Abednego Jordan Dos Remedios Pinto (Assistant Professor in History, Govt. College Sanquelim)
Amita Kanekar (Visiting Professor, Goa College of Architecture)
Annrose Glency D'Cunha (History Student, Goa University)
Aren D'Mello Noronha (Student, Portuguese Studies, Goa University)
Artur Teodoro de Matos (Professor Emeritus, Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
Benjamin Antonio Agnelo Monserrate (Curatorial Associate and Museum Educator)
Bernadette Rodrigues Pereira (Consultant Dietitian & Academician)
Celina de Vieira Velho e Almeida (M.A in Portuguese, Goa University)
Celsa Pinto (Historian, amU-Chaire Eduardo Lourenço)
Chenelle Fatima Rodrigues (Architectural Heritage Conservator)
Clive Figueiredo (Managing Committee Member, Museum of Christian Art)
Evanthika Edviges Pereira (Student, Goa College of Architecture)
Fleur D'Souza (Historian, Former Head of History Department, Heras Institute, University of Bombay)
Gargee Gaonkar (Assistant Professor, History Programme Goa University)
Hugo Crespo (Centro de História da Universidade de Lisboa)
Irene Silveira (Assistant Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, French & Francophone Studies, Goa University)
Janise Laurena Da Rocha (Student, Goa University)
John A. C. Misquita (B.Ed.Geography Science, Nirmala Institute of Education)
Joynel Fernandes (Director Archdiocesan Heritage Museum Mumbai)
Kelli Wood (Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Tennessee)
Leonel das Mercês Rodrigues
Loraine Ethel Barreto Alberto (Assistant Professor, SGSLL, French & Francophone Studies, Goa University)
Maria Bragança
Maria de Jesus dos Mártires Lopes (Historian)
Maria de Lurdes Bravo da Costa (amU-Chaire Eduardo Lourenço)
Natasha Maria Gomes (Assistant Professor in French, SGSLL, Goa University
Nathan Wayne Colaco (Student, Goa University)
Nicole Suarez (Journalist)
Pamela D'Mello (Independent Journalist, Researcher, Writer)
Poonam Verma Mascarenhas (Founding Director and Principal Architect, Archinova_Environs)
Prachi Kerkar (Student, Goa University)
Sharmila Pais (Associate Professor in History at St. Xavier's College)
Sushila Sawant Mendes (doctorate in History from Goa University)
Tyrone Socorro Fernandes (Student, Goa University; Intern at MoCA Museum)
Veda Kansar (Student in History, Goa University)
Venancia D'souza (Student, Goa University)
Vida Rodrigues
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II Edition ISIPH Research Laboratories
Goa, June 2026
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