We're delighted to announce the launch of a new part-time Associate Conservator Diploma, delivered in partnership with Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and supported by Mubadala Foundation.

The diploma is designed to help current and future conservators build the skills and knowledge to apply professional standards of conservation practice, work in line with national and international policies, and respond to the ever-changing environmental challenges facing heritage collections.

Delivered and awarded by West Dean, the programme blends science and contextual theory with hands-on practical workshops, using collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to learning. It is taught in English in a hybrid format, with online sessions, sessions at Zayed National Museum and four weeks of work-based activity at the museum or, with suitable supervision at an alternative location. The course draws on West Dean's long-standing expertise in practical collections care demonstrations, materials analysis and conservation treatments.

The diploma is designed for those who want to continue their academic studies in conservation, as well as for people already working in the heritage sector who want to develop their professional practice. Through the partnership between Zayed National Museum and West Dean, students will gain a deeper understanding of conservation and how it sits within wider cultural, economic, historical and site-specific contexts.

Professor Laura Peters, Vice-Principal at West Dean, said: "We are delighted to have been selected as educational partner of choice by the national museum of the UAE ... I wish to congratulate the teams at Zayed National Museum and West Dean for making this new venture possible and look forward to welcoming students and professionals to study and develop their practice".