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Dr Gai Jorayev
Research Fellow
Institute of Archaeology Gordon Square
Institute of Archaeology
- Joined UCL
- 3rd Oct 2011
Research summary
Cultural heritage managementPublic archaeology and heritage education
Heritage and nation-building
Heritage of Central Asia
Capacity building and heritage-based development
Cultural tourism
Digital heritage
Aerial photography, photogrammetry, rapid documentation and GIS/spatial analysis
Decolonisation and Ethics
- Member of the Central Asian Archaeological Landscape (CAAL) project.
- Member of the Shanxi Digital Documentation project
- Member of the UCL/Northwest University (Xi'an) International Centre for Silk Roads Archaeology & Heritage
- Deputy-director of the Ancient Merv Project
- President of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on AeroSpace Heritage
- Senior Heritage Management Consultant at the Centre for Applied Archaeology
- Member of Editorial Board of Advances in Archaeological Practice Journal
- Founding member of London Central Asia Research Network (LCARN)
- Administrator of New Research on Central Asia and the Caucasus group
Teaching summary
Degree Programme Co-ordinator: MA in Managing Archaeological Sites (ARCL0108)
Course Co-ordinator: Digital Heritage: Applications in Heritage Management (ARCL0148)
Course co-coordinator: MA Cultural Heritage Studies
Contributes to courses: Archaeological Heritage Management in Asia; Archaeology of the Silk Roads; Cultural Heritage, Globalisation and Development; Museum Studies; Principles of Conservation.
Education
- University College London
- Doctorate, Doctor of Philosophy | 2014
- University College London
- Other higher degree, Master of Arts | 2008
- First Degree, First Degree. | 2001
Biography
Dr Gai Jorayev (Gaýgysyz Joraýew, Гайгысыз Джораев, Gaygysyz Joraev) has a background in heritage management, planning and public archaeology, and he has worked with international heritage management and research projects since 2004. He recently carried out projects in post-Soviet space, Africa and European Union, and he currently collaborates closely with several international organisations such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, UNWTO and EBRD in their activities in Central Asia. Between MA and PhD degrees, he undertook an internship with the Culture Section of Asia unit of UNESCO. Although cultural tourism, cultural heritage, preservation, capacity building and development are the main focus of his current activities, Gai has previously worked on development projects with the EU and UN where he has experience in economic and infrastructure development and public health.
Gai is experienced in spatial analyses and modelling, and he leads research initiatives on uses of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in archaeology. He manages Digital Heritage laboratory at UCL Institute of Archaeology and works on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications for public outreach, interpretation and education. Using digital documentation techniques for creating detailed, open-access heritage inventory systems, and for monitoring change over time is some of the key areas of research at present.
Gai researched heritage management in Central Asia as part of his doctoral work and holds strong links with heritage management organisations and research centres in the region.