What are the most pressing issues in the heritage sector today? Who are the key players in this field? Which concerns are causing the greatest worries? In our new series ”Heritage Voices”, we discuss hot topics on the heritage map with influential figures from this discipline — practitioners and theorists alike!
In the inaugural interview, Dr Katarzyna Jagodzińska, head of Europe Nostra Heritage Hub in Kraków, talks with Dr Joanna Ślaga, Deputy Director for Research and Strategy at the Jagiellonian University Museum – Collegium Maius in Kraków, about academic heritage — a field that is only now beginning to gain proper recognition in heritage studies.
Dr Ślaga highlights the role of the university museum in preserving and shaping academic heritage, and the need for formal regulations and conservation strategies. An example of such actions was the inclusion in 2024 of the processional march of Jagiellonian University professors, which inaugurates the new academic year, on the Polish National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This helps better protect and promote this long-standing tradition. The researcher also emphasises the importance of preserving both tangible resources and intangible elements of academic heritage — such as rituals, symbols, and traditions that create the identity of “the university’s people”. Dr Ślaga points out that today, custodianship of this heritage does not only lie with the community of professors, doctoral students, students, and university staff, but with everyone who cares about the history and tradition of higher education in Poland and Europe! She also highlights the challenges involved, including the delicate task of adapting centuries-old academic traditions to contemporary realities.
We warmly encourage you to read the full interview opening the “Heritage Voices” series!
