Dr Gai Jorayev (Gaýgysyz Joraýew, Гайгысыз Джораев, Gaygysyz Joraev) has a background in heritage management, planning and public archaeology, and he has worked with international heritage management and research projects since 2004. He recently carried out projects in post-Soviet space, Africa and European Union, and he currently collaborates closely with several international organisations such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, UNWTO and EBRD in their activities in Central Asia. Between MA and PhD degrees, he undertook an internship with the Culture Section of Asia unit of UNESCO. Although cultural tourism, cultural heritage, preservation, capacity building and development are the main focus of his current activities, Gai has previously worked on development projects with the EU and UN where he has experience in economic and infrastructure development and public health.

Gai is experienced in spatial analyses and modelling, and he leads research initiatives on uses of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in archaeology. He manages Digital Heritage laboratory at UCL Institute of Archaeology and works on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications for public outreach, interpretation and education. Using digital documentation techniques for creating detailed, open-access heritage inventory systems, and for monitoring change over time is some of the key areas of research at present.

Gai researched heritage management in Central Asia as part of his doctoral work and holds strong links with heritage management organisations and research centres in the region.