UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA DEL NORTE

Their core work

Universidad Católica del Norte is a Chilean university based in Antofagasta, in the heart of the Atacama Desert, with research strengths in arid-zone water resources and marine/coastal sciences. In H2020, they contributed expertise on desert hydrology and aquifer visualization, Mediterranean-linked natural product research, and most recently marine metrology and ocean observation. Their location gives them direct access to extreme arid environments and Pacific coastal ecosystems, making them a valued partner for European consortia needing Southern Hemisphere field sites and data.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UCN's early H2020 involvement (2016-2019) was broad and mobility-driven, participating via MSCA schemes in Mediterranean diet research and Atacama Desert hydrology — topics that reflect staff exchange rather than a single institutional focus. From 2021 onward, their work sharpened toward marine and coastal observation through the MINKE infrastructure project, which is their only funded participation and their largest engagement. The shift suggests a strategic move from exploratory researcher mobility toward deeper integration in European ocean observation infrastructure networks.

UCN is positioning itself as a South American node in European marine observation networks, with growing capacity in citizen science and coastal data quality.

How they like to work

UCN has never coordinated an H2020 project — they join as a partner or third party, typically in large consortia (35 unique partners across 3 projects). Their participation through MSCA-RISE and MSCA-IF-GF schemes indicates they primarily serve as an international mobility destination and field-site provider. For potential partners, this means UCN is a reliable consortium member that brings geographic complementarity rather than project leadership.

Despite only 3 projects, UCN has built connections with 35 partners across 15 countries, reflecting the large consortium sizes of MSCA and infrastructure calls. Their network spans Europe and likely Latin America, providing a bridge between EU research and the Southern Hemisphere.

What sets them apart

UCN's location in the Atacama Desert — one of the driest places on Earth — and on Chile's Pacific coast gives European consortia access to extreme environments unavailable in Europe. They offer a rare combination: arid-zone field expertise alongside coastal and marine observation capacity in the South Pacific. For any project needing Southern Hemisphere validation sites, desert hydrology data, or Pacific Ocean monitoring, UCN fills a geographic gap that few EU partners can.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MINKE
  Their only directly funded H2020 project (EUR 194,250), focused on building a marine metrology knowledge-transfer network across starting communities — signals their current strategic direction.
• INVISIBLE WATERS
  Directly tied to UCN's unique Atacama Desert location, studying aquifer sustainability in one of the world's most water-scarce regions.