PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE

Their core work

Harvard University participates in EU Horizon 2020 exclusively as a non-EU partner institution in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), hosting European researchers on individual fellowships and contributing to doctoral training networks. The university spans an extraordinarily broad research portfolio — from cancer genomics and neuroscience to climate economics, quantum optomechanics, and digital humanities. Harvard's role is to provide world-class research environments, mentorship, and infrastructure for EU-funded researchers who spend fellowship periods at Harvard labs and departments. Their participation reflects Harvard's position as a global magnet for research talent rather than active pursuit of EU funding.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, Harvard's H2020 involvement concentrated on neuroscience, cancer research, international development studies, and social sciences — reflecting broad-based researcher exchanges across established departments. From 2019–2022, participation shifted toward more specialized technical domains: quantum optomechanics, holography, digital humanities, computational molecular evolution, and microfluidics. This evolution suggests Harvard's EU collaborations moved from general academic exchange toward more targeted, technically focused research partnerships.

Harvard's recent MSCA partnerships trend toward physics, computational biology, and interdisciplinary digital methods — expect future collaborations to cluster around these technically intensive fields.

How they like to work

Harvard exclusively participates as a partner or third-party host — never as coordinator — reflecting its role as a non-EU institution that receives MSCA fellows rather than leading EU consortia. With 302 unique partners across 44 countries, Harvard operates as a global hub with exceptionally diverse connections but no repeat-partner loyalty pattern. Working with Harvard means accessing their research infrastructure and prestige through mobility schemes, not traditional consortium co-development.

Harvard has collaborated with 302 distinct organizations across 44 countries, making it one of the most broadly connected non-EU institutions in H2020. The geographic spread is truly global, though the partnerships are structured through European lead institutions hosting MSCA programmes.

What sets them apart

Harvard is among the most active US-based universities in H2020 MSCA programmes, offering European researchers access to arguably the world's most recognized academic brand and research infrastructure. Unlike typical EU consortium partners, Harvard's value lies in providing a prestigious secondment destination and access to top-tier US research networks. For consortium builders, including Harvard signals global ambition and strengthens any MSCA proposal's training dimension.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GEMCLIME
  Large-scale climate and energy economics training network (2016–2022) spanning six years — Harvard's longest H2020 engagement with direct policy relevance.
• PCFENCM
  Pan-cancer functional evaluation of non-coding DNA mutations — represents Harvard's strength in frontier genomics and cancer driver discovery.
• SEQOO
  Single-emitter quantum optics and optomechanics — illustrates Harvard's growing role in quantum physics collaborations with European partners.