GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY CORPORATION

Their core work

George Washington University is a major US research university in Washington DC that participates in European research primarily by hosting visiting researchers through Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships and training networks. Their H2020 involvement spans remarkably diverse fields — from colonial military history and political science to photonics and obesity medicine — reflecting the breadth of a large university hosting individual fellows rather than a focused institutional research agenda. Their DC location makes them a valuable transatlantic bridge for EU projects needing US-based academic expertise or policy proximity.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

GWU's early H2020 involvement (2015-2018) centered on humanities and physical sciences — colonial warfare history and photonics — with no clear thematic thread, consistent with hosting individual MSCA fellows across departments. From 2020 onward, two clearer threads emerged: health research through the SOPHIA obesity project (their only funded participation) and security/radicalization studies through WhIsE. The shift toward health with real EC funding suggests a more strategic engagement with EU research compared to the earlier fellowship-hosting pattern.

GWU appears to be moving from passive fellowship hosting toward more substantive participation in health research consortia, as evidenced by their funded role in SOPHIA.

How they like to work

GWU operates almost exclusively as a third-party contributor or minor participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. In 4 of 5 projects they served as a third party, typically hosting MSCA fellows or providing specialized expertise from their US base. Despite this peripheral role, they have connected with 97 unique partners across 19 countries, suggesting they are embedded in large consortia but contribute specific expertise rather than driving project direction.

GWU has touched 97 unique consortium partners across 19 countries, a wide but shallow network driven by participation in large MSCA training networks rather than deep bilateral partnerships. Their US location makes them an unusual node in otherwise Europe-centric consortia.

What sets them apart

As a top-tier US university located in Washington DC, GWU offers EU consortia something few European partners can: proximity to US federal agencies, policy institutions, and a transatlantic academic perspective. Their willingness to participate as third parties in MSCA networks makes them accessible for EU projects needing a credible American academic partner without the overhead of a full consortium member. The extreme breadth of their topics — from photonics to obesity to radicalization — reflects deep faculty across many disciplines available for targeted collaboration.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SOPHIA
  Their only project with direct EC funding (EUR 299,999) and longest duration (2020-2026), signaling a deeper commitment to obesity phenotyping and treatment algorithm research.
• WhIsE
  Unusual and timely topic — studying European conversions to Islam in far-right contexts, including Russia and Germany — combining security studies with religious scholarship.
• SUPUVIR
  Demonstrates GWU's scientific breadth: a photonics training network on supercontinuum light sources, entirely different from their social science and health work.