CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION Y DE ESTUDIOS AVANZADOS DEL INSTITUTO POLITECNICO NACIONAL

Their core work

CINVESTAV is Mexico's premier advanced research center, operating under the National Polytechnic Institute. In H2020, they contribute deep expertise in plant biology (seed development, apomixis, fruit evolution), combinatorial mathematics and algorithms, and high-performance computing. They serve as a key non-European research partner bridging Latin American scientific capacity with European consortia, particularly through MSCA-RISE staff exchange programs that enable researcher mobility between Mexico and EU institutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CINVESTAV's early H2020 work (2015-2017) centered on plant biology and computational mathematics — crop improvement, seed yield control, and algorithmic graph theory. From 2019 onward, their portfolio diversified significantly into HPC policy dialogue, cultural heritage, history of science, and climate adaptation, while maintaining the plant biology thread through apomixis and fruit development research. This broadening suggests a deliberate strategy to position themselves as a multi-disciplinary bridge institution for EU-Latin America research cooperation across sciences and humanities.

CINVESTAV is expanding from its traditional STEM strengths into digital infrastructure policy and humanities, making them an increasingly versatile partner for EU-Latin America collaborative programs.

How they like to work

CINVESTAV never coordinates H2020 projects — they participate exclusively as a partner (3 projects) or third party (7 projects), which is typical for non-EU organizations joining through MSCA-RISE mobility schemes. With 98 unique consortium partners across 23 countries, they maintain a remarkably broad network for a non-European institution, suggesting they are a sought-after partner rather than a passive participant. Their heavy reliance on MSCA-RISE (7 of 10 projects) indicates their primary value proposition is researcher exchange and bilateral knowledge transfer.

CINVESTAV has collaborated with 98 unique partners across 23 countries, an exceptionally wide network for a Mexican institution in H2020. Their reach spans well beyond Latin America into broad European and global partnerships, reflecting their role as a preferred non-EU research partner.

What sets them apart

As Mexico's top advanced research center, CINVESTAV offers something few EU partners can: a direct institutional bridge to Latin American research ecosystems with world-class capabilities in plant genetics and computational science. Their participation through MSCA-RISE means they bring genuine researcher mobility and knowledge exchange, not just a name on a consortium list. For any project requiring EU-Latin America cooperation — especially in agriculture, HPC, or science diplomacy — they are one of the most experienced and well-connected Mexican partners in the H2020 landscape.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MAD
  Runs until 2025, focuses on apomixis mechanisms in forage grasses — a topic with major implications for agricultural seed production without fertilization.
• RISC2
  Strategic HPC coordination project between Europe and Latin America, positioning CINVESTAV at the center of bi-continental supercomputing policy dialogue.
• SciCoMove
  Unusual for a technical institute — a humanities project on the history of scientific collections, showing unexpected interdisciplinary range.