Before the Hong Kong government introduced its Conservation Policy in 2007, employment prospects for architects who wanted to specialise in the field of conservation were few and far between.
Since then, employment opportunities have increased significantly as a result of an increasing number of conservation projects and initiatives supported by this policy, and the growing demand for suitably qualified professionals from leading international private practices that are opening offices in the city.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been enabling local architects to benefit from this rising demand for their services through its master's of science in conservation programme, which it introduced in 2000.
'Since 2007, almost all of our graduates are professionally engaged in conservation or conservation-related professions, with most of them finding jobs with government agencies in Hong Kong, Macau and elsewhere,' explains Dr Lee Ho-yin, director of the architectural conservation programme (ACP) at HKU.
'Others are in private practice, with architectural, engineering, surveying, real estate and property development companies, but still working on conservation-related projects,' he says. 'A number of outstanding graduates have become successful conservation consultants, with some being headhunted by private consultancies to be appointed to middle and senior management positions.'
The teaching approach used in the master of science in conservation programme is based on the use of case studies and extensive field trips. The programme comprises 16 core courses, with four courses being field studies to various locations, which are either World Heritage sites or important local heritage zones in various places in China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.