In late August 2025, Professor Hsiao-Wei Lin from CYCU’s Department of Architecture led master’s student Yen-Po Tuan and alumna Yu-Yu Chen to Kiruna, Sweden, a historic mining town, to attend the 19th International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) Conference.
Through Professor Lin’s facilitation, the Asian Network of Industrial Heritage (ANIH)—an initiative of Taiwan’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture—successfully signed an International Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TICCIH. This partnership not only enhances Taiwan’s international visibility in industrial heritage preservation but also establishes a long-term, institutionalized framework for collaboration between Taiwan and the global professional community.
Professor Hsiao-Wei Lin, serving as both Convenor of the ANIH Steering Committee and Board Member of TICCIH, assisted in the signing of the MOU between Taiwan’s Bureau of Cultural Heritage Director Chi-Min Chen, TICCIH President Dr. Miles Oglethorpe, and President-elect Dr. Marion Steiner. As a key advisory body to UNESCO’s World Heritage Program, TICCIH’s partnership with ANIH highlights Taiwan’s active participation in global cultural heritage governance and its growing leadership in industrial heritage preservation across Asia.
Professor Lin also presented Taiwan’s national report, revisiting the 2012 TICCIH Conference in Taipei, and addressed the TICCIH 50th Anniversary Celebration, emphasizing the Asia-Pacific region’s rising importance in industrial heritage preservation. She chaired the TICCIH Asia Regional Meeting, engaging over 30 experts from across Asia to explore future collaboration opportunities.
With around 300 participants from more than 50 countries, the conference reflected expanding global engagement with industrial heritage—from Europe to Asia and Latin America. Nine Taiwanese scholars presented their work, showcasing Taiwan’s diverse achievements in industrial heritage conservation.
At the conference, Professor Hsiao-Wei Lin presented her research titled “Industrial Cultural Routes: Unfolding a New Perspective on Industrial Heritage,” introducing a new framework for industrial cultural route preservation that received strong recognition from participants. CYCU architecture graduate students and alumni also presented papers, demonstrating young researchers’ global engagement and research potential. Both students are currently involved in cultural heritage conservation, with alumna Yu-Yu Chen previously receiving a CYCU Graduate Research Grant to present at the 17th TICCIH Conference in Chile and continuing her professional growth after founding her own practice.
The Department of Architecture and CYCU actively encourage international academic participation and collaboration, joining global programs such as the EU Jean Monnet Project to enhance students’ understanding of European and global cultural issues. The successful MOU signing between ANIH and TICCIH further strengthens Asia-Pacific collaboration in industrial heritage preservation and revitalization, reaffirming CYCU’s role as a key contributor to Taiwan’s cultural heritage research and global engagement.
