The Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program (IPGP) “Preservation& Management of Cultural Heritage” was established in November 2020 (Government Gazette 4823/Β’/2-11-2020) through the collaboration of the following two academic departments of the Ionian University: the Department of Environment of the School of Environment, which serves as the coordinating department, and the Department of Archives, Library Science & Museology of the School of Information Science and Informatics, as the collaborating department.

The decision establishing the program was amended in April 2023 (Government Gazette 2447/Β’/12-4-2023) and provides for the adoption of distance learning methods for 90% of the teaching and attendance of its educational modules, with the remaining 10% corresponding to the laboratory component of specific modules conducted in person at the facilities of the coordinating Department of Environment in Zakynthos.

The program welcomed its first postgraduate students in the Academic Year 2021–2022.

The mission of the program is as follows:

• To contribute to the advancement of the various disciplines involved in the promotion, study, documentation, and conservation of cultural assets.
• To promote interdisciplinary cooperation and mutual understanding among all scientific fields involved in the establishment and proper operation of cultural institutions.
• To foster scientific research and disseminate academically developed knowledge in the fields of museology and cultural heritage management.
• To contribute to upgrading the scientific role of the curator of a cultural institution engaged in the practical application of managing archaeological, historical, ecclesiastical, folkloric, and ethnographic artifacts.