The Boston Architectural College (BAC) recently completed its first U.S. Department of State grant that funded a partnership between the College and the National College of the Arts (NCA) in Lahore, Pakistan. The BAC first started working with the NCA in 2013 when the State Department selected the College as part of its grant funding. The grant’s goals were to:

• expand the NCA curriculum with specific coursework in heritage conservation and management
• establish and support an efficient and robust online course delivery system to broaden accessibility to quality design and heritage conservation education
• promote professional development and enhance cultural awareness through faculty and student exchanges and shared academic activities, including scholarly research and publications
• develop heritage conservation field school venues at major heritage sites within Pakistan
• develop digital archival technical capacity

“The grant afforded the BAC the opportunity to host and get to know NCA students and faculty in Boston, and for BAC students, faculty, and staff to travel to Pakistan. As a result of the opportunities afforded by the grant, we developed deep and lasting relationships with one another that are both professional and personal. It is not an exaggeration to say that all who have participated in the grant will carry with them a better understanding of the other’s country and culture. Each participant will indeed be an ambassador and advocate in promoting good will between the U.S. and Pakistan,” said Don Hunsicker, dean of the School of Design Studies.

The BAC and NCA laid out an ambitious plan for the grant, and while not every element of the goals of the grant have been realized in full, the partnership was successful in substantially achieving the goals of the grant. With the success of this first grant, the BAC and NCA were approved in fall 2017 for another two year grant through the U.S. Department of State. This new grant will run through the end of 2019.