The IHBC’s recent exploration of a Charter has helped focus our support for interdisciplinary learning by Conservation Professionals, so we’re looking at how our Schools can help delegates add value for themselves and their networks, and calling for more ideas and suggestions from delegates and members.
IHBC Director Seán O’Reilly said: ‘We’re all keen to make the most of any learning opportunities, especially when money is involved! Below is a collation of responses to initial informal queries to delegates on how they maximise learning outcomes from our most recent School: #IHBCShrewsbury2025.’
With these prompts to start thinking and future guidance, I’m keen to hear from delegates and networks about thoughts and ideas on making the most of our School-linked learning, whether online or in-person.
Just email me your suggestions at director@ihbc.org.uk, or make the most of your Social Media skills and post your suggestions on the IHBC via LinkedIn, which is more good CPD support in itself.’ (Remember to and add #IHBCShrewsbury2025 and tag The Institute of Historic Building Conservation in your posts)
SUMMARY
‘The best starting point for boosting your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the reflection on and assessment of your learning through recording your CPD.’
‘This can be framed by our general web guidance on IHBC CPD and informed by the dedicated School CPD page. You can also use our 2025 School CPD Circular, and links there, to start your thinking and reflections on #IHBCShrewsbury2025 – but what more can be done?
‘As to recording, in addition to the more familiar IHBC CPD forms, linked HERE, for ease of tracking and analysing your own CPD needs and attainments, you can try the IHBC’s new excel-based CPD DOWNLOAD FORM. There, progress is automatically tracked and charted for your convenience as described HERE.
‘Around the School itself, for my own CPD, I took the opportunity to speak to trustees, tour leads, speakers and delegates to find out what they do to enhance their CPD. Initial, if admittedly random, selections of thoughts and practices include those below. But do let me know what you think is most useful for your CPD boost, at director@ihbc.org.uk, especially if we’ve missed it here!’
LEARNING AND EDUCATION – FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE
IHBC’s National Office lead for the 2025 School was Angharad Hart, our Education and Application Support Officer. One key and linked role there was managing the pre-conference webinar series.
Angharad writes of the webinars: ‘The pre-conference webinar series offered a brilliant lead-in to this year’s Annual School, with contributions from practitioners, policymakers and academics on topics ranging from placemaking, retrofit and sustainability to development, wall paintings, community engagement and more.’
‘The sessions sparked rich discussion and provided valuable context for the conversations we continued to build on in Shrewsbury, around our theme of Heritage in Context. I would like to thank all our presenters, several of whom were present at this year’s Annual School, and went on to contribute to our programme of talks and tours’.
‘As regards learning, these are primarily live broadcast events, for copyright and other reasons, so in general you need to join in the live event itself, when you also get to ask questions etc. as time allows. Some webinars will also go online, so do keep an eye on our NewsBlog service and YouTube Channel for those and other recorded learning opportunities.’
TOUR GUIDES AND RESEARCH
image: Andre Mangion
Specialist research and knowledge is an essential resource in conservation, and a critical thread in the IHBC’s competences, so conferences such as our School always offer dedicated access to that. IHBC’s own Kathryn Davies led the Shrewsbury School’s most niche CPD, the ‘Secular Wall Paintings’ tour. This looked at key wall paintings in vernacular buildings in the town, mostly dating from the 16th to early 17th centuries. These illustrated well the significance of wall paintings in the context of the building and how it was used in the early modern period, and the feedback from these tours has been very positive!
Kathryn’s accessible expertise is well known to many, so anyone can see and follow up in more detail her linked research and related publications, including the new edition of her ‘Artisan Art: Vernacular wall paintings in the Welsh Marches, 1550–1650’, HERE. Kathryn also led the linked pre-conference School webinar notedHERE, while, more generally, heritage practitioners and networks can explore other research-focused publications by IHBC members HERE.
SPEAKERS – PRACTICE RESOURCES AND FEEDBACK
Aishwarya Tipnis opened the Day School with a fascinating and far-reaching contribution succinctly summarised by West Midlands Branch Chair – and Day School speaker – Imogen Wood in her post-School LinkedIn update (Social Media itself being another good way to extend your School CPD!) as copied below:
‘My favourite talk was by Aishwarya Tipnis who delighted us with visuals from her home town in India and of the World Heritage Site of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Interestingly, she shared with us that 90% of Conservation Architects in India are trained in the UK and so they come back with a British Conservation Approach and apply this to an Indian context… whether that’s right or wrong I connected strongly with my own talk the questions around ‘whose rules’ and ‘whose harm’ are we following. AND – Aishwarya Tipnis has produced some awesome practical guidance that is available FOR FREE which I am hoping she will post the link to below…. ??? it is particularly great because it is aimed at everybody, not the Conservation professional or trades, but home owners, businesses, anyone!’
Aishwarya has followed up on Imogen’s post through a comment including the link to the guidance: the ‘Toolbox’ from her Jugaadopolis work HERE
Aishwarya’s own ‘Lessons from Jugaadopolis… innovative community engagement’ also formed a central School-linked pre-conference webinar (reported HERE ), offering even wider learning routes and access.
Aishwarya, on her own LinkedIn account, also posted the link to a fascinating case-study she referenced in her talk, exploring ‘the challenges of restoring a haveli in Old Delhi’. That publication, she wrote, ‘is free for download and it might be of interest…’. even a quick perusal catches its high value and potential for any heritage specialist or Conservation Professional.
Aishwarya travelled from India to talk to us in Shrewsbury, and maximised the value of her CPD around the School by staying on in the UK afterwards. As School support and thanks, our network has helped her arrange visit to sites, tours and practices, even joining in seminars, while I do hope for a wider NewsBlog (or Context) review of her experience after her return!
IHBC TRUSTEES: EXTENDING SCHOOL CPD IN SATURDAY TOURS
image: Jonathan Taylor
IHBC trustee Sarah Khan, architect and Practice Partner at Roger Mears Architects (RMA), has kindly taken even more time from work to email me her CPD strategy around Shrewsbury: ‘The Tours and talks at IHBC school were great!. It is interesting to have diverse topics on the CPD day that we may not encounter during our work. Similarly, I had not visited either Shrewsbury or Ironbridge before (though quoted the Ironbridge as a precedent in one of my projects), so these Tours were very valuable to me.’
‘I took notes and screenshots of the slides, and also photos of the various tours, so I could do a lunchtime CPD talk with my colleagues in the Roger Mears practice, first going through the Friday lectures summary, then taking the office on a virtual tour through the visit photos I had taken. That ended up being a 1.5hr session, which the office enjoyed very much. And Ironbridge was a hit hands down!’
‘For future reference too, I saved my lecture notes and photos in an accessible place for office members to look through at their leisure. I also sign-posted various talks that were relevant to different staff members due to their interest or relevance to some projects they are working on, and I will go through those talks more in detail with the specific staff.’
‘The exhibitions stalls at the School were also very good – we are actually looking for some examples of magnetic secondary glazing to fit in our office, so that was especially useful’.
‘At the School dinner I also made contact with another practitioner readying to submit their IHBC application, so we exchanged details to make sure we could keep in touch and motivate each other as we prepare our applications.’
IHBC trustee Shantanu Subramaniam, Partner and Principal Heritage Consultant at Fuller Long – HEA, helpfully summarised his own extended CPD strategy in an email as follows:
‘I thought Shrewsbury2025 was fantastic; especially the diverse and open ended presentations and discussions; coupled with very informative site visits on Thursday, Friday and Saturday! A fantastic opportunity to network with quite a range of professionals; although having more local authority officers/ colleagues from amenity societies, etc would be great!’
‘Personally, I loved Tim’s tour and talk of the churches, especially St Chad’s, and it was great to hear about the challenges and successes of the project! The Ironbridge tour was, of course, the icing on the cake!’
image: Shantanu Subramaniam
As regards our promotion to the practice, we have a scheduled CPD talk over lunchtime and my colleague Virginia and I will be running through our learnings and experience at Shrewsbury2025. Having shared the Day School agenda, there was special interest from colleagues to hear Melissa Murphy’s presentation (especially with reference to relevant case law- very informative presentation!), and also Simon’s (of Donald Insall Associates) presentation and the three case studies.
‘Over the past few days, I have also had the chance to share useful contact information from the exhibitors with colleagues – with quite a lot of interesting resources there to add to our list of suppliers.’
‘I also took the opportunity to extend the School CPD and learning by staying back in Ironbridge (at the YHA Coalport, which was amazing) after our Saturday tour! This is superb, quaint and picturesque, and right next to the China Museum (with two surviving kilns!).’
image: Shantanu Subramaniam
‘The nearby Hay Inclined Plane (similar to the metal rails but quite well preserved) was fascinating!
‘And when you are next in the area, I would highly recommend a visit to the Coalport Bridge (1812), another brilliant example of an early iron bridge in the valley!’
image: Shantanu Subramaniam
DAY SCHOOL DELEGATE: EXHIBITORS AND EXHIBITIONS
Estefania Macchi, Architect at Groves-Raines Architects Studios, writes: ‘I found the exhibitors at the Annual School this year very good! I thought there was a good variety relevant to very different sectors; from professional services to products to education, which could cater for the diverse range of interests and backgrounds of the School attendees.’
‘There were various opportunities along the day to go around the exhibition, so one could take the time to speak to the exhibitors. I personally found this very useful to learn about new products and technologies or even new suppliers to traditional products and technologies, so I made notes for future reference!’
‘It was interesting and encouraging to see companies working to expand their market to Conservation projects too.’
In addition to this, the exhibition was also useful to make contacts: some of the exhibitors would be keen to provide CPD so I’m hoping we can bring them into the office soon.’
‘Generally, the exhibition side of the School is a great practical complement to the speakers’ sessions.’
See more on the programme details by following the School links above and HERE
