UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA

Their core work

Universidad de Guadalajara is a major Mexican public university contributing to European research through humanities, urban studies, and territorial governance. Their H2020 involvement focuses on understanding urban shrinkage and regeneration strategies, as well as the politics of digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South. They bring a Latin American perspective to European-led research on urban development, municipal governance, and the future of regions undergoing rapid digital transformation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UDG's H2020 trajectory shows a clear shift from broad humanities education toward applied urban and territorial research. Their earliest involvement (2017) was in a graduate school for the humanities with a general interdisciplinary focus. By 2018-2022, they moved into concrete urban challenges — shrinking cities, spatial planning, and regeneration — and their most recent project (REGFUT, 2022-2026) zeroes in on digitalisation's impact on urbanisation and governance in the Global South.

UDG is moving toward applied research on how digital transformation reshapes cities and governance in developing regions — positioning them as a Global South voice in European urban policy debates.

How they like to work

UDG operates strictly as a participant or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. With 43 unique consortium partners across 16 countries from just 3 projects, they join large, diverse consortia rather than leading small teams. This suggests they are valued for their specific regional perspective and academic expertise rather than for project management capacity.

Despite only 3 projects, UDG has built a broad network of 43 partners across 16 countries, reflecting their participation in large international consortia. Their connections span well beyond Latin America into European research institutions.

What sets them apart

UDG is one of the few Mexican universities active in H2020 urban and humanities research, offering a Latin American and Global South perspective that most European consortia lack. Their location in Guadalajara — Mexico's second-largest city and a rapidly digitalising urban centre — gives them first-hand insight into the urbanisation and governance challenges they study. For consortium builders needing non-European partners with real-world context on developing-region urban dynamics, UDG fills a distinct gap.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REGFUT
  Their largest funded project (EUR 159,690), running until 2026, tackling the politically charged intersection of digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South.
• RE-CITY
  Addressed the under-studied problem of shrinking cities with practical strategies like greening and right-sizing, connecting European urban decline patterns with global perspectives.