The University of Portsmouth celebrated the launch of its new Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation (COE-HI) , a collaborative initiative that brings together researchers, educators, practitioners, stakeholders, and communities to reimagine how heritage is understood, protected, interpreted, and used.
The launch event, which took place last week, welcomed cultural and heritage partners from across the city, offering opportunities to network and share ideas, as well as showcase the excellent work already being carried out within the Centre.
COE-HI will combine digital technologies with inclusive and collaborative approaches to inspire new ways of engagement and expand access. Through deepening understanding it hopes to foster sustainable futures for heritage in all its forms.
The team celebrated this milestone alongside valued partners including Portsmouth Historic Quarter, The Mary Rose Museum, The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Historic England, Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth Museums Services, Artecology, Isle of Wight Biosphere, Aspex Gallery, Palmerston Fort Society, Fortress Study Group, HIVE Portsmouth, Sustainable Conservation Trust, The Common Space, Pritchard Architecture, and many local community groups. The collaboration demonstrates the Centre's strong consolidated professional relationships with key players in the field, ensuring a thriving network to support its mission.
The Centre also aspires to explore innovative approaches to documenting, preserving, and presenting heritage for the future. COE-HI is committed to balancing inclusive approaches with research and innovation best practice, aiming to position itself as a leader in the sector.
It will foster collaborations to help address a wide range of heritage facets to attain international footprint for its innovative approaches. In this context, communities are at the heart of COE-HI's work, and the Centre utilises creative analogue and digital approaches to engage people in the preservation and presentation of their heritage, contributing to ownership, self-esteem, resilience, and wellbeing.
Dr Tarek Teba , Associate Professor in Architectural Heritage, and co-director said: "The Centre of Excellence for Heritage Innovation at the University of Portsmouth will stand as a flagship for heritage innovation, bringing together scholars, students, communities, and partners to pioneer inclusive, cross-disciplinary approaches that preserve and reimagine our shared cultural heritage.
"By aligning cutting-edge research with education, outreach, and community engagement, the Centre will not only enrich local identities and global understanding but also set new standards for how heritage can drive sustainability, creativity, and social impact worldwide."
The Centre emphasises that heritage is more than the material remains of the past; it is a living resource that shapes identity, informs decisions, and enriches cultural, social, and economic life. Valuing heritage means recognising its power to connect people with place, memory, and meaning, while ensuring its relevance for future generations.
Professor Karen McBride , Professor of Accounting and co-director of the centre added: "Valuing heritage requires care for what we inherit and creativity in how we pass it on. This Centre represents a commitment to those dual endeavours, honouring the past while empowering innovation that keeps heritage dynamic, democratic, and meaningful in an ever-changing world."
Through its Digital Heritage theme, COE-HI explores innovations in using analogue and digital technologies to document, preserve, interpret, and share cultural heritage. It examines the value, use, and impact of these technologies in heritage contexts, aiming to create innovative ways of understanding, conserving, and engaging with cultural heritage in an increasingly digital and connected world. This demonstrates the Centre's responsible approach in using these tools to balance conservation, engagement, and sustainable practices.
Dr Claire Bailey-Ross , Digital Heritage Theme Lead, said: "Our Digital Heritage research theme explores how emerging technologies can reimagine cultural heritage collections, transforming the ways audiences encounter and engage with them.
"Through projects such as our collaboration with Portsmouth Natural History Museum, we demonstrate how creative digital interventions; harnessing photogrammetry, animation, motion capture, and low cost holographic displays, can turn traditional collections (a taxidermy porcupine fish) into dynamic, engaging experiences that spark curiosity, foster learning, and open new possibilities for audience participation."
The COE-HI employs creative, design, and scientific approaches to preserve the diverse forms of heritage, ensuring they remain accessible and meaningful for present and future generations. The Centre encourages artists and designers to develop innovative and resonant engagements with the past, highlighting the impact of creative practices on communities' engagement with heritage.
