Early Career Researchers Network

Suramya Bansal

Suramya Bansal is an anthropologist and archaeologist with professional and academic experience in India and South Africa. He has worked with Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage, Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation, Wits Archaeology Division, Wits Origins Centre, Southern African Archaeology Student Council and World Archaeological Congress Student Committee. He received his undergraduate honours in Anthropology from Amity University and coursework masters in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Delhi University. He is currently completing his research masters in Rock-Art Archaeology from Wits University. As a Salzburg Global Fellow, he contributes to advocacy and activism on critical heritage matters with focus on sustainable development goals through Young Cultural Innovators Forum and Emerging Urban Leaders Forum.

He speaks Hindi and English.

Andrea Berettera

Andrea Berettera is an Italian archaeologist and critical heritage researcher, currently based in Lucca (Italy). He holds a BA in Archaeology from the University of Padua (with a period abroad at the Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès), an MA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Padua (with a period abroad at the University College London), and he is currently enrolled in a fully funded PhD program in Analysis and Management of Cultural Heritage at IMT School Advanced Studies Lucca (Italy).

Formed as a classical archaeologist, his experience in the UK (where he also worked for two years as a project assistant with the British commercial archaeology company MOLA) led him to delve into the domain of public archaeology, especially on the digital applications to cultural institutions. Finally, moving toward the socio-political aspects of critical heritage studies, his current research focuses on the role of archaeological heritage in the public discourse of political actors. 

Matteo Collina

Matteo Collina has a BA in Graphic Design and Visual Communication, and a MA in Cultural Heritage Photography. He is a technical and cave diver, a scuba instructor, and his main interest is underwater heritage. He has worked for five years as a Research Fellow studying survey methods for 3D reconstruction of underwater archeological sites, working on several European projects and 3D scanning shipwrecks all over the Mediterranean Sea. He has also been a Teaching Fellow for Cultural Heritage Photography and Scientific Photography.

Matteo's current PhD research at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, focuses on raising awareness of underwater heritage through Virtual Reality experiences taking a multidisciplinary approach that involves museums, science, and art. He is focusing on the Fiordland region, and he is closely working with the Victoria University Coastal Ecology Lab on different research about black corals, sharks and sponges. In particular, he is interested in new storytelling approaches, and he is exploring the possibility of narration through the embodiment of the land concept.

Matteo speaks Italian, English and some Spanish.

Victoria Vargas Downing

Victoria Vargas-Downing is a Chilean art historian and heritage researcher based in the UK. She holds a BA in Fine Theory and History of Art from the University of Chile, a Curating Diploma (Universidad Adolfo Ibanez) an MA in Arts Management and Heritages studies and a PhD in Cultural Studies from Leeds University. Her research verse on the relationship between contemporary art and heritage from decolonial and feminist perspectives. She has participated in art and curatorial residences in Sao Paulo (Habeas Data by Curatoria Forense), Los Angeles CA (Otis College of Arts and Design), Vienna (Curator's Agenda By Block Frei) and Belgrade (What Could/Should Curating do). She is also chair of ‘Ventana Conference on decolonisation’ and Chair of the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter.

Imamur Hossain

Imamur Hossain is a Bangladeshi Assistant Professor of Architecture and a conservation architect whose research aims bridging the material and immaterial aspects of cultural heritage. He focuses on interpreting and exploring contested, negotiated, and transforming socio-cultural dimensions in the Global South through a critical heritage lens. A Commonwealth Scholar, Imamur holds a Master’s in Heritage and Interpretation from the University of Leicester with distinction and a B.Arch. from BUET, with his dissertations critically examining the impact of state-sanctioned heritage narratives on local cultural practices.

As a conservation architect, Imamur has led several national and internationally funded projects on documentation and conservation planning, integrating advanced technologies like photogrammetry and virtual reconstruction. With a commitment to democratizing heritage, he co-founded ‘Amar Oitijjho’ (My Heritage), pioneering the use of augmented reality in heritage education for underprivileged communities.

As a founding faculty member of the Department of Architecture at Sonargaon University, Imamur teaches specialized heritage-based design studios and theory courses. He is actively engaged with professional organizations, including the Heritage chapter of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh and ICOMOS. Additionally, he serves as the Centre Coordinator of the formerly UK-based and newly relocated International Centre for Development and Environmental Studies (ICDES) in Dhaka. Imamur also collaborates with ‘Knowledgists Without Borders’, a think-tank aimed at inspiring young people through critical understandings of the Arts, Social Sciences, and Education.

Boryana Ivanova

Boryana Ivanova holds an MA (Hons) in History from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently pursuing an MSt in Building History from the University of Cambridge. She specialises in architectural narratives and historical contexts, and is passionate about preserving heritage and enhancing the built environment.

She is currently conducting a work placement with Alan Baxter’s conservation team, working on several heritage sites across England. As well, she is a Young Advisor for Historic England, contributing to policy recommendations, research, and youth-centred discussions.

She is interested in post-crisis recovery and reconstruction of both tangible and intangible heritage and is conducting independent research on heritage as a tool for peace-building, resilience, and healing through community action and collective memory regeneration. Alongside this, her Master’s thesis at Cambridge examines post-WWII damaged churches in London and their transformation into memorial sites.

Yelyzaveta Nesterova

Yelyzaveta Nesterova is a Ukrainian researcher who completed her BA in Tourism Management at Antalya Bilim University (Türkiye) where she initially developed her interest in social values of cultural heritage. She continued her academic training at Koç University (Türkiye) completing her MA in Archaeology and History of Art, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies track focusing on heritage education in the urban context. Her MA thesis titled “Sine Qua Non or a Privilege for Few?: Site-based Archaeological Heritage Education for Children in the Mediterranean Region and the Study Case of the Küçükyalı ArkeoPark (Istanbul)” examined heritage education programs for children and youth based at the urban archaeological parks of the Mediterranean with a particular focus on the heritage education at the Küçükyalı ArkeoPark, a Byzantine-period archaeological park in the city of Istanbul. 

Currently, Yelyzaveta is about to start her PhD in Media, Culture and Heritage at Newcastle University (UK), School of Arts & Cultures with the support of the AHRC Northern Bridge Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership. 

Yelyzaveta has been conducting research, including fieldwork, in Türkiye for several years. She is interested in present-day social values and uses of heritage, formal and informal ways and modes people interact with archaeological heritage, and affect and emotions studies. She also takes an interest in industrial heritage.

Yelyzaveta speaks English, Turkish, Russian, and Ukrainian.

Desmond Sham

Desmond Sham received his PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a cultural studies and urban studies researcher integrating postcolonial/decolonial approaches in researching cultural heritage, memory, and museums, with expertise in East and Southeast Asia. Desmond's research has three inter-related focusing areas: (1) the politics and potential of cultural heritage, memory, and museums, particularly those related to colonialism, wars and conflicts and other contested and 'difficult' pasts; (2) Cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, and sustainability; and (3) Postcolonial/decolonial studies. He is currently based in Taiwan.

Desmond speaks English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Stanley Onyemechalu

Stanley Jachike Onyemechalu is a Nigerian Gates Cambridge Scholar and PhD Candidate in Archaeology at King’s College, University of Cambridge, UK. His research, which was recently awarded the Emslie Horniman Anthropological Scholarship Fund, explores the complex relationship between cultural heritage and the legacies of violent conflicts in the context of the Nigeria-Biafra war (1967-1970). He is the current Book Reviews Editor for the Archaeological Review from Cambridge (ARC) journal and has a Lectureship in Archaeology and Heritage Studies with the University of Nigeria.

His research interests cut across conflict heritage and legacies of violence, (Post-)Conflict and Memory, Critical Heritage Studies, Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management, Museum Studies, and Community Archaeology. He also has teaching/research experience and publications in these areas.

Stanley is fluent in the Igbo and English languages.

Ran Wei

Ran is currently a PhD candidate in Regional and Urban Planning Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She worked as a research fellow and assistant planner at Tsinghua Tongheng Planning & Design Institute in Beijing. Ran holds an MS in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and a BE in Urban Planning from Peking University. Ran’s current research focuses on heritage preservation planning and heritage-led urban regeneration, particularly the decision-making process and the competing heritage discourses of heritage projects in China. She is also interested in state-led relocation and gentrification in heritage areas, nomination, conservation, and management of World Heritage, and heritage tourism.

Ran speaks Mandarin Chinese, English, and some French.

Yiyang Xiao

Yiyang Xiao is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she is a fellow of the CUHK Vice-Chancellor Scholarship. Her PhD research explores the memorylands of the colonial past in modern Chinese urban landscapes. She holds an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies with distinction from University College London and a BA in Archaeology and Museology from Nankai University. Her current research interests include difficult and contested heritage associated with colonialism, conflicts, and wars, as well as urban anthropology, place and space, post-colonialism, decolonization, memory studies, and museum studies. 

Yiyang is fluent in Mandarin and English, and conversational in Cantonese.

Leticia Zuppardi

Leticia Zuppardi is a museologist and archivist based in Montevideo (Uruguay). She holds a BA in Archival Studies, a BA in Museum Studies, a BA in library science and an MA in Information and Communication, all from the University of the Republic (Montevideo, Uruguay), and an MA in Heritage studies and sustainability from Uppsala University.

She has participated in research on monumental heritage, critical archival studies, and women´s documentary heritage.

She holds a position at the Universidad de la República and serves as the president of the Uruguayan Association of University Professionals in Museology.

Former Coordinating Team Members

• Jajuan Johnson (2020-2024)

• Claudia Uribe (2020-2024)

• Ella Békési (2020-2022)

• Roslynn Ang (2018-2022)

• Harald Fredheim (2018-2022)

• Hilary Leathem (2018-2022)

• Walter Lowande (2018-2022)

• Qingkai Ma (2018-2022)

• Francesca Piazzoni (2018-2022)

• Cristina Clopot (2016-2020)

• Eman Hesham (2016-2020)

• Sahar Khoshnood (2016-2020)