Digitisation of cultural heritage discussed at AIMday
3 November 2016
The research and cultural heritage sectors meet to give each other fresh insights as Uppsala University hosts an AIMday for cultural heritage.
Cultural heritage has become a field of great importance for the development of modern society. Modern technology creates new opportunities for communicating and presenting cultural heritage, as well as making it accessible. The potential and challenges of digitisation are the starting point for the topics that organisations from the cultural heritage sector will discuss with Uppsala University researchers at the AIMday for cultural heritage.
On 10 November, various organisations in the cultural heritage sector and researchers from different scholarly fields and subjects gather at Uppsala University’s campus Blåsenhus to discuss how cultural heritage can bee made accessible, communicated and presented to different target audiences and areas. The topics to be discussed have been submitted beforehand by the organisations, based on their current challenges.
One of the organisations taking part at the AIMday for cultural heritage is the LSH – the Swedish government agency for the Royal Armoury, Skokloster Castle and the Hallwyl Museum. The museums’ collections consist of some 90,000 items, with everything from unique 17th-century clothing, royal jewellery and antique weapons to historical kitchen utensils and scientific instruments. One of the questions that the LSH wants to discuss is about different learning styles in a digital context and how we take in visual and digital information. The topic is highly relevant since a new permanent exhibition is being set up at the Royal Armoury to replace the current one which has been on display since 1978.
“The new permanent exhibition will be a thematic and chronological exhibition focusing on how the monarchy legitimised its power. It’s an extensive project where our area of responsibility is to show our digital collections. Our hope is that the AIMday meeting can give us knowledge and ideas of how we can offer something both to those without any prior knowledge about Swedish history, and to those who wish to deepen their knowledge,” says Karin Nilsson, Head of the Digital Museum unit at LSH.
Other topics to be discussed during the day revolve around how the national cultural heritage bodies can become better at giving the public a way to contribute to building knowledge and research on Swedish materials such as items, photographs, documents, etc. Internationally there are several examples of such initiatives which have had positive outcomes. How digital methods can support cross-border research, storytelling and life-long learning are other topics to be discussed during the day.
“Cultural heritage is an exciting and cross-border field and there is a lot of interest from both researchers and organisations to meet on this theme. Uppsala University conducts a lot of research which is relevant in this context, both in humanities and social sciences, and IT related fields. We strive to connect this research with the needs of society in a way that strengthens quality in research and education,” says Jin Moen, Project Manager for the AIMday on cultural heritage at Uppsala University Innovation.
About AIMday
AIMday is a method pioneered by Uppsala University to further collaboration between academic researchers and companies and organisations. Questions and challenges from companies and organisations are matched with researchers, and every issue is discussed in a workshop format – one hour per question. The goal is to explore, in a cross-disciplinary way, several different possible paths to potential solutions for an issue and lay the foundation for future collaboration. The AIMday concept was launched in 2008 and has since then been used in many different fields, such as cancer, diabetes, ageing and materials. The concept is also used by other Swedish higher education institutions and has also been introduced abroad, including at the University of Edinburgh and at the University of Oxford.
Sara Gredemark
News
-
Nordic conspiracy theories through the ages
01 mars 2021
Conspiracy theories are becoming more common in the world, and the Nordic countries are no exception. Are some conspiracy theories unique to the Nordic countries? What typical narratives are disseminated? And when did this really start? A new book...
-
The plague year of 1710 was also a difficult year
24 februari 2021
As historians, it is our job to take a step back and give perspective to our current situation. For anyone looking back, it isn’t hard to find other difficult years. In Sweden’s past, 1710 was undoubtedly one such year, writes Jonas Lindström, res...
-
Sustainable development the focus of new graduate school at Campus Gotland
21 januari 2021
On 18 January, Uppsala University’s new multidisciplinary graduate school opened at Campus Gotland. Its focus is on sustainable development. This involves research on key societal challenges within changing energy systems, sustainable consumption,...
-
Archives crucial for Freemasons’ identity
22 december 2020
The Order of Freemasons’ meticulous archives are fundamental to their identity. The unique structure of the masonic archives reinforces the secrecy and mystique of the self-image that has been fashioned by the Order — and characterises it in the e...
-
Grants for research on the impact of AI on people and society
15 december 2020
In a major 10-year national research programme, two Wallenberg Foundations are supporting research on the impact of the ongoing technology shift, involving digitalisation and artificial intelligence, on our society and our behaviour. Two of the gr...
-
Linnaeus and Rudbeck medallists chosen
10 december 2020
This year the Rudbeck Medal is awarded to Professors Olle Eriksson, Inger Sundström Poromaa and Maria Ågren, while the Linnaeus Medal is awarded to Professor Kerstin Lindblad Toh and Chairman Dai-Won Yoon at Hallym University in South Korea.
-
Turkic cultural heritage in Uppsala
07 december 2020
Uppsala University has a rich collection of manuscripts, printed material, art objects and maps related to the Ottoman Empire and other Turkic cultures. How did they come to Uppsala? This story is told in a new book “Turcologica Upsaliensia. An Il...
-
Fallen in battle, these Swedish Vikings are part of a larger genetic puzzle
17 september 2020
In a recently published article in the journal Nature, 90 researchers from various countries have collaborated to develop new knowledge about the Viking-era population. Marie Allen, professor of forensic genetics at Uppsala University, has contrib...
-
The VR game that takes you to medieval Visby
14 augusti 2020
Using a VR helmet, you can try your hand at archery in 14th century Visby. This new VR game has been developed by the game company Disir, which was founded by a game developer and three archaeologists, of which two research at Uppsala University.
-
“The American dilemma is far from resolved”
15 juni 2020
The police violence in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of George Floyd has once again thrust relations between black and white Americans onto the agenda, a dilemma that will most likely play a central role in this autumn’s presidential elec...
-
Social graces and etiquette vital for Carl Linnaeus
04 juni 2020
What would have become of Carl Linnaeus if he had remained single? Would science have missed out on one of its major lodestars without his well-functioning household? And was his son, Carl Linnaeus the Younger, really the ne’er-do-well he was repu...
-
Medieval manuscript fragments acquired
26 maj 2020
A group of fragments of medieval manuscripts has been acquired by Uppsala University Library. Among these there is a fragment related to Saint Bridget of Sweden. This particular fragment may have been written at or owned by the Vadstena Abbey.
-
She studies AI as existential media
30 april 2020
How are we influenced when smart digital assistants, like Siri and Alexa, become part of our homes? And what happens when we begin to track deviating individuals through biometrics? “More research is needed on what it means to be human in a digita...
-
New study reveals unknown side of Astrid Lindgren’s creative process
21 februari 2020
Why did Jonathan Lionheart’s pitch-black hair suddenly turn golden? And how did Master Detective Kalle Blomqvist get his proper name? In the “Astrid Lindgren Code”, literature researcher Malin Nauwerck lifts the lid on some of the literary world’s...
-
History professor given prestigious assignment
22 januari 2020
Maria Ågren, professor of history, has been awarded a distinguished professor grant of SEK 50 million over 10 years by the Swedish Research Council. The council awarded grants totalling some SEK 380 million to eight applicants.
-
Winner of the 2019 Geijer Prize Named
14 januari 2020
The Geijer Prize for history 2019 has been awarded to Mia Kuritzen Löwengart for her doctoral thesis A Matter of Social Urgency: The emergence of a symphony orchestra and concert house in Stockholm, ca. 1890-1926 and Hedvig Widmalm for her doctora...
-
Legendary runestone bears witness to climate anxiety 1,200 years ago
08 januari 2020
After more than 1,000 years, one of the greatest mysteries of the early Viking Age, the Rök runestone which bears the world’s longest runic inscription, appears to have been solved. According to four Swedish researchers, the puzzling inscription h...
-
Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize goes to Afaf Doleeb and Patricia Lorenzoni
21 november 2019
The Martin Henriksson Holmdahl Prize is Uppsala University’s foremost award for contributions to the promotion of human rights and liberty. This year’s prize is shared by graduate student Afaf Doleeb and researcher Patricia Lorenzoni for their com...
-
Large-scale cadastral maps on parchment digitised
08 november 2019
Uppsala University Archives holds a large collection of hand-drawn seventeenth century maps on parchment. These maps are of significant historical value and a valuable source of information on the University’s agricultural properties at the time.
-
New Honorary Doctors Appointed at Uppsala University
21 oktober 2019
The nine faculties at Uppsala University have decided on who they wish to appoint as honorary doctors this academic year. The new honorary doctors include researchers in fields as diverse as string theory, maternal healthcare, evolutionary biology...