FACULDADES CATOLICAS ASSOCIACAO SEM FINS LUCRATIVOS

Their core work

PUC-Rio is one of Brazil's leading private research universities, based in Rio de Janeiro and run by the Catholic Church as a non-profit. In the H2020 context, it acts as a non-EU third-country host for European researchers under MSCA-RISE staff exchange schemes, contributing faculty expertise across three very different fields: urban sociology, thermal engineering, and data science. Its real value in EU consortia is as a Latin American anchor — offering access to Brazilian field sites, datasets, and research groups that European partners cannot replicate at home. Partners typically come for a specific lab or department, not for the university as a whole.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Across a narrow 2017–2018 entry window, PUC-Rio's H2020 footprint shifted from social-science themes (social cohesion, urban regeneration, citizen engagement) toward engineering and computational themes (thermal phase-change physics and, by 2018, mobility and big data analytics). This is not a real strategic pivot so much as evidence that different faculties plugged into European networks independently. The trajectory suggests the data-science and engineering groups became more active EU collaborators than the urban-studies team by the late 2010s.

Momentum is on the STEM side — engineering and data-analytics groups at PUC-Rio are the more likely entry points for future EU collaborations.

How they like to work

PUC-Rio never leads H2020 projects and joins exclusively as a non-EU third party under MSCA-RISE, meaning its role is to host and exchange staff rather than to drive work packages. Despite only three projects, it has touched 35 partners across 17 countries, so each consortium it joins tends to be large and international. It behaves as a hub for staff mobility rather than a tight, loyal collaborator with repeat partners.

A broad network of around 35 partners across 17 countries, built through just three consortia — typical of MSCA-RISE's wide, multi-country design. The geographic centre of gravity sits in Europe, with PUC-Rio providing the Latin American node.

What sets them apart

PUC-Rio is one of the few Brazilian universities with a visible, multi-disciplinary presence in H2020, making it a natural first choice for European consortia that need a credible South American partner in sociology, engineering or data science. Its value is less about deep technical specialisation in any single field and more about bridging European research groups to Brazilian datasets, cities and academic networks. For a consortium builder, it is a gateway into Latin America rather than a domain-leading lab.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MASTER
  Applies machine learning to trajectory data across tourism, transportation and sea monitoring — a rare cross-domain data science project with strong practical applications.
• ThermaSMART
  Engineering-side engagement on microprocessor cooling via phase-change, showing that PUC-Rio's contribution to EU networks extends well beyond the social sciences.
• CO-CREATION
  Tackles urban stigmatisation and regeneration in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, a topic where Rio de Janeiro is a globally relevant field site.