DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY

Their core work

De La Salle University (DLSU) is a major research university in Manila, Philippines, that participates in European frontier physics research through international staff exchange consortia. Their technical work spans quantum optical phenomena in advanced nanostructures — from collective excitations and plasmonics to the design of terahertz antennas built from 2D materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides. In the H2020 context, DLSU functions as a third-party research host within MSCA-RISE projects, meaning European researchers travel to Manila and DLSU researchers visit European labs, enabling genuine knowledge exchange rather than purely transactional participation. They bring Southeast Asian research capacity to European quantum photonics consortia, making them a rare non-EU anchor in this highly specialized domain.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earliest H2020 engagement, CoExAN (2015-2019), DLSU worked on the broad physics of collective excitations in nanostructures — a foundational quantum domain without a specific application target, as reflected in the absence of recorded keywords. By TERASSE (2019-2025), that foundation had sharpened into a clearly application-oriented program: terahertz antennas, self-amplified spontaneous emission, and the specific 2D material platforms (graphene, TMDs) needed to make them work. The trajectory is from fundamental quantum physics toward engineered photonic devices with near-term relevance to communications and sensing.

DLSU is moving from foundational quantum physics toward engineered terahertz photonics — a direction aligned with 6G wireless research and advanced sensing, making them a relevant partner for any European group pursuing beyond-5G or THz imaging technologies.

How they like to work

DLSU participates exclusively as a third party in MSCA-RISE consortia — a role structurally assigned to non-EU institutions in this funding scheme, meaning they contribute research access and staff mobility rather than budget management or work-package leadership. Despite only two projects, they connect into consortia of 14 partners across 9 countries, which suggests their European collaborators are well-networked and that DLSU is valued as a genuine research node, not just a geographic checkbox. Anyone considering them as a partner should plan for a staff-exchange model rather than a subcontracting relationship.

From just two projects, DLSU has built connections to 14 distinct consortium partners across 9 countries — a wide network for such a small H2020 footprint. Their partners are predominantly European research institutions drawn together by shared interest in quantum photonics and 2D materials.

What sets them apart

DLSU appears to be the only Philippine university active in H2020 terahertz and 2D-materials research consortia, giving it an unusual dual identity: a credible quantum photonics research group and a gateway to Southeast Asian academic infrastructure. For European consortium builders, adding DLSU to an MSCA-RISE bid provides the required non-EU third-country participation while bringing genuine scientific expertise rather than a token partner. Their combination of fundamental physics grounding (CoExAN) and applied antenna engineering (TERASSE) makes them a credible bridge between theory and device-level photonics.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TERASSE
  The most technically specific project in their portfolio — THz antennas using self-amplified spontaneous emission in graphene and TMDs puts DLSU at the intersection of 2D materials science and next-generation wireless antenna research, a rare combination outside of dedicated European photonics institutes.
• CoExAN
  Their entry into H2020 via a consortium studying collective excitations in nanostructures established the quantum physics foundation that later evolved into the applied antenna work of TERASSE, making it the foundational piece of their EU research trajectory.