Sarah Ward is Dalian Maritime University’s first Professor of Maritime Archaeology and Underwater Cultural Heritage. Educated at the Universities of Southampton and Southern Queensland, she is an internationally recognised, Asia-capable Australian expert with a 24‐year career in maritime, coastal, and underwater cultural heritage. Ward’s work emphasises collaborative, transformative, systems‐based partnership approaches to the investigation, preservation and management of Asia’s submerged legacy, enhancing the connection between people and the sea while advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Ocean Decade actions. She is the Executive Director of the Asian Underwater Cultural Heritage Association, Consultant Foreign Expert to China’s National Centre for Archaeology, Co‐Director of the China‐Cambodia Underwater Cultural Heritage Cooperation, and Chair of the Asian Regional Underwater Cultural Heritage Workshop series. Based in China since 2018, Sarah is a sought‐after guest lecturer at leading institutions across Asia and beyond.