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The EU’s first ‘Teaming for Excellence’ grant in the field of archaeology includes 2.5 million euros for Kiel.
Kiel University (CAU) is one of the world’s leading centres for archaeology. This is demonstrated not only by its repeated success in the German Excellence Strategy with the ROOTS Cluster but also in international comparisons such as the QS World University Rankings. The European Union has now approved a joint ‘Teaming for Excellence’ proposal from the CAU and the University of the Algarve (UAlg) in Portugal. Under the coordination of UAlg, the CAU as partner institution will support the Portuguese university in establishing a European Centre of Excellence for technological innovation in the field of archaeological heritage. The EU is funding the partnership with a total of 15 million euros. 2.5 million euros of this are intended for Kiel.
A historic success for the CAU and the UAlg
“The University of the Algarve and the CAU have been long-standing partners within the SEA-EU alliance. The fact that the EU has approved our joint ‘Teaming for Excellence’ application is a historic success for both institutions. On the one hand, the decision confirms the CAU’s excellent international reputation in the field of archaeology. On the other hand, the funding gives us the opportunity to strengthen our own structures and expand them in collaboration with our colleagues in Portugal,” says Professor Ralph Schneider, CAU Vice-President responsible for internationalisation.
The funding that has now been approved marks the first ‘Teaming for Excellence’ grant ever awarded by the EU in the field of archaeology. It is also the first ‘Teaming for Excellence’ application in which the CAU has been involved. “We are all the more delighted by this success,” emphasises Dr Michaela Ecker, the lead archaeologist of this project from the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at Kiel University (CAU).
Technologies for applied solutions in archaeology
The aim of the German-Portuguese project is to establish a self-sustaining innovation centre named ‘UAlgTec Heritage’ in the Algarve. It will develop technologies that translate scientific findings from archaeology into practical solutions for spatial planning, cultural tourism, the creative industries and climate adaptation for archaeological sites.
The institutions involved at the Kiel University, such as the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, the Johanna Mestorf Academy and the Research Focus Area Societal, Cultural, and Environmental Change (SECC), contribute their expertise in supporting early-career researchers, recruitment and organisational structures for excellent research.
Complementary laboratory facilities in Kiel and the Algarve
“At the same time, we will use the funding to expand existing laboratory facilities in Kiel, particularly with a view to the ARCWorlds research centre currently planned for Kiel,” explains Michaela Ecker. Among other things, this will create infrastructure that enables further research into early human history during the Palaeolithic era.
“This area has been relatively under-represented in Kiel to date, but it is a key focus at UAlg. The EU funding gives us the opportunity to create complementary structures at both locations,” adds Ecker, who heads an Emmy Noether research group on early human development in Southern Africa.
In the field of science communication, too, the collaboration aims to explore new areas with the help of modern technology.
In addition to the two universities, the Portuguese archaeology company Arqueologia S.A. and the Ireland-based technology consultancy Zartis Ltd. are also partners in the project. Part of the project, which has now been approved and is set to begin in early 2027, is a culture and technology festival that will be held in Kiel at least once over the next six years.
“I am very much looking forward to the collaboration and the new opportunities resulting from it,” emphasises Michaela Ecker.
The SEA-EU Alliance: collaborative and interdisciplinary
The SEA-EU Alliance, coordinated by the University of Cádiz in Spain, was founded in 2019 by six universities: the University of Cádiz, the University of Brest (France), Kiel University (Germany), the University of Gdańsk (Poland), the University of Split (Croatia) and the University of Malta. For the second project phase, which commenced at the beginning of 2023 and funded with a total of 14.4 million Euros, three more partners joined the network: the University of Naples Parthenope (Italy), the University of Algarve (Faro, Portugal) and Nord University (Bodø, Norway). Altogether, the alliance comprises about 150,000 students and 18,000 employees, all of whom can benefit from the increased collaboration the alliance fosters. The funding from the EU Commission covers 80 percent of the total costs of SEA-EU. The remaining 20 percent is financed by the nine members.
Together the nine partners, all located along European coastlines, form an interdisciplinary, inter-university, multi-ethnic and multilingual university campus. Close cooperation with European partners makes it possible for the universities to push ahead with the international development of technologies, strategies and models. In this way, important contributions can be made to finding solutions to major social and global challenges of our time. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, which the alliance regards as being in line with its values, are an important guide in this respect.
SEA-EU is one of 73 European Universities Alliances currently funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.
Pictures/Materials to download:
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2026/071-teaming-excellence-2.jpg
Archaeologist Michaela Ecker is investigating the impact of long-term climate and environmental changes on human cultural development. Together with researchers from the University of the Algarve and two companies, she has submitted the first successful ‘Teaming for Excellence’ proposal in the field of archaeology to the EU.
© Jan Steffen, Cluster ROOTS/Uni Kiel
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2026/071-teaming-excellence-1.jpg
In a current project on early human development in Southern Africa, Michaela Ecker’s team is already using state-of-the-art technologies, for example, to record finds. The ‘Teaming for Excellence’ proposal aims to establish a centre that will develop new technologies for archaeological fieldwork, as well as for cultural tourism, the creative industries and the climate adaptation of archaeological sites.
© Michaela Ecker
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2026/071-teaming-excellence.jpg
Thanks to joint research and the SEA-EU alliance, there have been long close ties between Kiel University and the University of the Algarve. Here, Michaela Ecker visits a laboratory at the Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) at UAlg in 2023.
© ICArEHB
Dr Michaela Ecker
Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology/ROOTS Cluster of Excellence
+49 431 880-4379
mecker@ufg.uni-kiel.de
https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/details/news/071-teaming-excellence
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