The Nordic Graduate School in Archaeology (Dialogues with the past) 2016-2020

The Nordic Graduate School in Archaeology Dialogues with the Past (DIALPAST) is a unique collaboration that consisted of 27 universities and research institutions in the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, and Kiel during the period 2016-2022. The school is led by a steering committee consisting of 12 internationally recognized researchers representing the different participating institutions. Around 400 PhD fellows are part of the DIALPAST collaboration. DIALPAST was initiated in 2004 and has over the years offered a wide range of high-quality, international research courses and workshops. From 2016 to 2022, DIALPAST received funding from the Norwegian Research Council, with the Cultural History Museum as the project owner, led and managed from the Institute of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo, and with an annual fee from the collaborating institutions. DIALPAST aims to offer PhD fellows from Nordic institutions academic courses and world-class workshops. The PhD fellows are taught by renowned researchers from all over the world, thus offering them a first-class international learning environment. The overarching goal of the courses is to focus on cutting edge theoretical, methodological, and interpretive challenges within archaeology and cultural heritage. Moreover, the PhD fellows are given a unique opportunity to establish themselves in an international research environment and thus create meaningful networks for their future academic careers. Over the years, the school has gained great recognition for its quality courses led by top international researchers and lecturers. From 2016 to 2022, the school has prioritized initiatives aimed at the university museums’ PhD fellows and organizing courses in India and South Africa, i.e., countries that are prioritized by the Norwegian government through the Panorama strategy. To support the political aim for cooperation, the courses have been open to PhD fellows from selected universities in India and South Africa. Furthermore, some of the following courses in Europe were open to applications from PhD fellows from these countries. Since 2016, DIALPAST has organized 36 courses and workshops for over 400 PhD fellows. Most of the courses have been held at the Nordic institutes in Rome, Athens, and Paris and at the Norwegian Research Council's Brussels office. DIALPAST has also organized courses in Madrid, Oxford, Copenhagen, in Nagaland in India and Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, to address specific academic and teaching needs.

Dialogues with the Past har vært et viktig tiltak for å sikre den høye kvaliteten på rekruttering og forskerutdanning innen fagfeltet arkeologi. Forskerskolen har vært en ambassadør for de norske forskningsmiljøene og vitenskapelige samlingene internasjonalt: Gjennom nettverkene av internasjonale lærekrefter og ambisiøse doktorander, kan den norske modellen for å kombinere forskning, formidling og samlingsforvaltning presenteres for et internasjonalt publikum og for internasjonale forskningsmiljøer. To synergieffekter framheves spesielt: For det første, DIALPASTs kurstilbud i perioden 2016–2022 reflekterer en faglig orientering og et akademisk nettverk som strekker seg langt forbi de nordiske og baltiske landene. Enkelte av kursene blir gjentatt på grunn av stor forespørsel, spesielt gjelder dette workshops om hvordan skrive/publisere artikler, og hvordan søke om eksterne midler hos ERC eller nasjonale forskingsråd som NFR. Flere av deltagerne på slike kurs har etter avlagt PhD søkt om og fått midler fra ERC (og nasjonale forskningråd), og har gitt klart uttrykk for at DIALPASTs kurstilbud har vært informativt, instrumentelt og dermed medvirkende i søknadsprosessen. Her ligger kanskje DIALPASTs viktigste synergieffekt: Kurstilbudet har muliggjort og bidratt til PhD-avhandlinger og artikkelpublisering på høyt internasjonalt nivå og vært til stor hjelp for unge forskertalenter som senere har søkt om ERC-midler. Dette vil DIALPAST aktivt bidra til også i fremtiden. Den andre synergieffekten er at DIALPAST har hatt stor innvirkning på PhD-utdannelsen i arkeologi i Norden, ikke minst i Norge. Kurstilbud er ikke bare populært blant stipendiater i DIALPASTs nettverk, de har også blitt adoptert, integrert og tilpasset bruk lokalt ved det Humanistiske Fakultet ved UiO. Ikke minst har DIALPAST synliggjort arkeologi som en disiplin som muliggjør tettere samarbeid på tvers av fakultetsgrenser, mellom humaniora, samfunnsvitenskap og diverse naturvitenskaper. DIALPAST har på flere målbare måter satt en standard for PhD-utdannelse i arkeologi og tilgrensende fagfelt, og en forventet nytteverdi på lang sikt (3-5 år) av arbeidet nedlagt med DIALPAST så langt er tettere tverrvitenskapelig dialog og samarbeid gjennom nyskapende PhD-prosjekter.

DialPast was established in 2004 as cooperation between archaeology departments from the Nordic countries. It has since organized 24 international seminars and workshops with more than 350 participants. In 2009 the school received substantial joint funding from the Norwegian Research Council and the University Museums in Norway with the aim of integrating PhD students from the University Museums into a broader academic network. Since 2009 an important aim for DialPast has been to strengthen research capabilities at the Norwegian University Museums, as well as facilitating the cooperation between the University Museums and other academic institutions. The Museum of Cultural History (KHM), University of Oslo (UiO), has been the project owner on behalf of the University Museums in Norway. The Institute of Archaeology, Conservation and History (IAKH), UiO, is responsible for administering the project and for the successful collaboration between the university research departments and the University Museums. With renewed funding for the period 2016 to 2021, DialPast will be able to develop a more sustainable long-term strategy for the research school and significantly expand its course portfolio. By continuing to integrate PhD students from the museums in the DialPast network, the research school can ensure that the quality of their training matches international standards, the desired outcome being a more predictable recruitment of qualified researchers to fill positions at the University Museums. The new grant will also assist in promoting an international collaboration for PhD-level students by offering travel grants for participation in DialPast events to dedicated students from the EU and the eight priority partners outside Europe: Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, China, Russia, South-Africa and the US.