ABSTRACT
Accommodating industrial heritage-related educational programmes in the university system is almost as challenging as finding a place for industrial archaeology among the academic disciplines. This is due, without doubt, to the multidisciplinary approach to the subject, as well as its primary interest in practical work. The main focus of industrial-heritage higher education is on providing a variety of skills and competences so that students can not only understand the surviving evidence of industrialisation but also promote its preservation and appreciation. In order to give industrial-heritage students insight into the nature of industrial development, including the the transition from pre-industrial to industrial societies, introductory studies are needed to academic fields such as the history of technology, economic and social history, geography, urban planning and environmental sciences. Meanwhile, to equip them with professional skills regarding the conservation, interpretation and management of the significant material remains of past industrial activities, training is essential in the practical aspects of above- and below-ground archaeology, understanding artefactual evidence, the use of documentary and oral sources, recording and dating technologies, databases and spatial analysis, protective legislation and fund-raising, to list only the most obvious. Providing the breadth of capability and capacity that can be required of industrial-heritage professionals within a single curriculum is the challenge that educators face.
