About
Dr Vanicka Arora is a Lecturer in Heritage at the University of Stirling. Her research focuses on post-disaster reconstruction of built heritage in Bhaktapur, Nepal, exploring intersections between heritage conservation, disaster risk management, and local practices. She holds a PhD from Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society, where her work examined temporalities of disasters, climate change impacts, and memory formation. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates post-colonial theory, urban regeneration, and generative AI methodologies.
Dr Arora has over a decade of professional experience in India specializing in disaster risk reduction for heritage sites. She co-chaired the Resilience Theme at ICOMOS 2023 and co-organized workshops on AI’s impact in heritage studies. She is affiliated with the Centre for Environment, Heritage and Policy (CEHP) and actively contributes to the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.
Her recent work bridges AI ethics with cultural analysis, including critical investigations into AI imagery and automated subjectivity. She received the BNAC PhD Dissertation Prize 2023 for her chapter analyzing ritual’s role in heritage reconstruction. Her teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate heritage courses, emphasizing global and South Asian contexts.
