Simon Fraser University

Their core work

Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a major Canadian research university that contributes specialized expertise to European research networks, primarily through staff exchanges and individual fellowships (MSCA). Their H2020 involvement spans a remarkably broad range — from computational biology and immunology data infrastructure to Pacific archaeology, forensic linguistics, and cooling technologies. SFU typically serves as a non-European knowledge node, bringing Canadian research strengths into EU-led consortia. Their contributions center on advanced data science methods, interdisciplinary humanities research, and health informatics.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SFU's early H2020 involvement (2016–2019) focused on technology-oriented work: IoT sensor networks, visual perception research, and health data infrastructure for immunology. From 2020 onward, there is a clear pivot toward humanities and interdisciplinary research — Pacific archaeology, population genetics, forensic linguistics, sound art, and cultural resilience modeling. The health and computational biology thread persists but is now complemented by a strong social sciences and humanities dimension that was entirely absent in the early period.

SFU is expanding from STEM-only contributions into interdisciplinary projects that blend computational methods with humanities and social science questions — a valuable profile for SSH-integrated calls.

How they like to work

SFU almost never leads EU projects — zero coordinator roles across 16 projects, with 13 of those as a third-party partner rather than a full consortium member. This reflects their position as a non-EU institution that gets pulled into consortia for specific expertise rather than driving proposals. With 163 unique partners across 37 countries, they connect broadly rather than deeply, making them an accessible partner for new collaborations but not a consortium anchor.

SFU has collaborated with 163 unique partners across 37 countries, an exceptionally wide network for a non-European institution. Their reach spans well beyond the typical EU core, reflecting their role as a bridge between Canadian and European research communities.

What sets them apart

As a Canadian university, SFU offers EU consortia something rare: a credible non-European partner with genuine expertise in Pacific and Southeast Asian research, plus strong computational biology and data science capabilities. Their unusual combination of bioinformatics, archaeology, and linguistics makes them ideal for interdisciplinary calls that require both quantitative methods and humanities perspectives. Few organizations bridge computational genomics and Oceanian cultural studies the way SFU does.

Highlights from their portfolio

• iReceptor Plus
  Full participant role (not third party) in a major health data infrastructure project building federated immune repertoire databases for cancer immunotherapy and vaccine development.
• OCSEAN
  Combines linguistics, archaeology, medical genetics, and migration studies across Southeast Asia and Oceania — a uniquely interdisciplinary project spanning five years.
• PANGAIA
  Positions SFU at the forefront of pan-genome graph algorithms and computational genomics data science, connecting their CS and biology strengths.