TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

5. Heritage interpretation and university education TEHIC Towards a European Heritage Interpretation Curriculum 80 And now is time to check opportunities to argue for the implementation of (yet another) master programme as much promising than the bachelor one, insomuch as we are speak- ing about university-based programmes in heritage interpretation. Accordingly, the current situation of the European and global ‘market of university/academia curricula’ represents more a starting point, or rather, a potential position for heritage interpretation to become in the future an academic discipline, which, eventually, will be reflected on more offers by different university curricula, both in Europe and elsewhere. As it happened with the case of museology/museum studies, it shall take some time, but certainly less than it was needed in the past, to see it fully visible. As we said earlier, the situation regarding museology/museum studies and heritage interpretation (either within heritage studies or as a separate university programme) is quite similar. They are just not happening at the same time, where the last is favourable to heritage interpreta- tion and could make it quicker. Similar, in a way, as it was the case with museology/ museum studies, inspiration of researchers coming from different fields, or from re - searchers contributing to establishing heritage studies, we need an even stronger impact on theoretical (the most important) as well as practical side to lift up, to make heritage interpretation attractive to a new generation of researchers, who might come from di- verse fields (directly or indirectly) addressing heritage, who will be increasingly attracted by ideas of heritage interpretation and the benefits they bring to society. Heritage interpretation has a chance to become relevant much faster (e.g., the agenda of green policies) and more often addressed by different scientific fields, be it pedagogy, environmental issues, museology, or any other scientific discipline that we previously called the core ones. And as such, herit- age interpretation will be more likely influenced by more research - ers and will be included among university-based master’s de - grees, or indirectly (or directly) bachelor`s degrees, as well as at doctoral level accredited degrees. An extraordinary growing interest in heritage studies as the main field of research, thus flourishing university academic programmes offer us a reason to believe that diversification will up standard and more masters in heritage inter - pretation will appear in the future. The EU funded TEHIC project is just one (small, but important) contribution toward sorting all, or many of the aforementioned dilemmas out of this issue.