Action Plan

Action Plan for the Norwegian Institute at Athens (NIA)

Core Objectives:

- Maintain and advocate the NIA’s role as a national infrastructure for researchers and students within the Norwegian universities and colleges (UHR sector) that wish to conduct research, teaching and disseminate knowledge about the Greek world and related topics within the spectrum of humanities, social sciences, and the arts from antiquity to recent times.

- Fulfil scientific and administrative obligations toward the Greek state in accordance with the status of the NIA as a Foreign Archaeological School in Greece (i.e., annual meetings and archaeological reports, preservation and safeguarding of antiquities, publications of the archaeological excavation results, outreach).

- Foster closer ties with the Norwegian UHR sector by building long-term thematic collaboration in the form of research- and teaching projects, lecture series and related events (archaeology, classics, digital humanities, heritage, social sciences).

- Build upon the NIA’s values and legacy to attract early-career Norwegian scholars to research archaeology, as well as broader cultural and social issues in Greece and the Mediterranean, spanning Antiquity, the Byzantine era, and more recent times.

- Promote UiB’s sustainability goals.

Priority area A Research:

- Encourage and facilitate Norwegian archaeologists, along with scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and the arts, to continue their work in Greece. This includes lecturing at the NIA, publishing their research results, and fulfilling commitments to the Greek Ministry of Culture (if applicable). Priority is given to research project proposals originating from the NIA’s owner and supporter institutions.

- Promote research activities by contributing to applications and externally funded projects.

- Provide the NIA’s facilities to Norwegian scholars for research projects spanning reasonable durations (e.g., the Research Affiliate Program) to facilitate consistent presence at NIA.

Priority Area B Teaching/Education:

- Develop a viable strategy to attract more student courses from UiO, UiB, and other Norwegian universities by allocating office space and resources (e.g. access to the Nordic Library).

- Promote the NIA by establishing collaborations with study programs, departments, and faculties at UiB, UiO, and other Norwegian universities.

- Explore the potential for a Summer Field School initiative with UiB (in collaboration with UiO) to enhance visibility, thereby establishing the NIA as a natural academic resource and destination for future generations of academics.

Priority Area C Dissemination:

- Leverage the NIA’s research network and its role as an international hub to disseminate the work of Norwegian researchers to the Greek, Nordic, and broader academic communities.

- Maintain hosting and facilitating income-generating activities originating from the UHR sector and third parties, while promoting them on our website and social media platforms.

- Sustain collaboration with the Nordic and the other Foreign Schools in Greece to foster a sense of belonging to a broader academic community, promoting shared goals and exchanging good practices (i.e., the NORDICS program).

New activities in 2025-2026 related to all three priority areas A, B and C:

- Continue efforts to attract new archaeological projects led by Norway-based scholars and to facilitate currently pending applications, such as the University Museum of Bergen’s field survey project proposal scheduled for November 2025. Priority Area A.

- Engage with the newly established Nordic Research School of Museums and Cultural Heritage (NorMus), which has received funding from NFR to offer PhD courses all over Scandinavia, with the aim of involving the NIA. Priority Area A and B.

- Launch the new joint lecture series Encounters, organized by the NIA and NIR, aimed at attracting early career scholars from Norway and the respective host countries. Rome October 9, 2025, Athens May 2026). Priority Area C.

- Launch a new lecture series titled Ministry Lecture Series, inviting archaeologists and other scholars from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture to present their work. The series will feature one lecture per year, alternating among the Foreign Schools in Athens that choose to participate. Priority Area C.

- Continue supporting the hybrid workshops initiated by the NIA (Digital Archaeology Workshop Series 2024-2027, Cuius Regio). Priority Area A.