Shandong University was selected by the Ministry of Education (MOE) into the special list of universities for cultivating high-level talents in archaeology, according to an announcement released by the MOE on Jan 11.

SDU will bolster its efforts to meet the requirements of national key strategies such as the marine strategies and the Belt and Road Initiative by taking full advantage of its discipline characteristics and advantages to implement supportive policies to cultivate talents in archaeology.

Thirteen universities across the country were included in the special list of universities for cultivating high-level talents in archaeology. The selected universities will set up a special leadership group led by university leaders to carry out special implementation work.

According to the announcement released by the MOE, archaeology has now initially established a discipline system with Chinese characteristics, and an academic system and discourse system after a long-term development. It plays an irreplaceable role in interpreting and revealing Chinese culture and the Chinese civilization, and promoting cultural exchanges with the world.

On the other hand, the archaeology discipline is still facing problems such as lack of high-level talents and innovation. Therefore, it is essential to cultivate high-level talents who are capable of making breakthroughs in the core technology of archaeology and to meet the needs of the discipline's development.