UNIVERSIDADE DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIRO

Their core work

UERJ is one of Brazil's largest public universities, and in H2020 it acted as a non-EU academic partner bringing South American research capacity to European consortia. Its three H2020 engagements reflect three entirely different faculties: thermal physics and heat transfer engineering, oceanography and marine observation, and political science/European studies. The common thread is not a single lab but the institution's willingness to contribute specialized researchers to EU-led international collaborations. For partners, UERJ is a bridge into Brazilian academic networks and a source of tropical/South Atlantic data and perspectives.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the earlier period of H2020 (2016-2017 entries) UERJ's only contribution was in the humanities, through the GLOBUS political-theory project on global justice. From 2017 onwards the profile shifted decisively toward STEM: first thermal engineering with ThermaSMART, then marine sciences with EuroSea. The trajectory moves from normative social science into applied physics and environmental/ocean research — consistent with a large university deploying different faculties rather than a single group evolving.

UERJ is drifting into applied STEM collaborations — especially ocean sciences and heat transfer — which is where new partners are most likely to find active research groups today.

How they like to work

UERJ has never coordinated an H2020 project; it joins as a participant or third party, typically inside very large multinational consortia (77 distinct partners across only 3 projects). This points to a supporting specialist role rather than consortium leadership. Expect a cooperative academic contributor that plugs into EU-designed work packages rather than driving project design.

Across only three projects UERJ has worked with 77 unique partners in 21 countries, reflecting embedment in large, globally-scaled EU consortia covering both Europe and Latin America.

What sets them apart

UERJ is one of the very few Brazilian universities visible in H2020, making it a natural access point for EU consortia that need Latin American academic partners, South Atlantic ocean data, or a Southern-hemisphere research voice. Unlike specialized institutes, it spans hard engineering, marine science and social science under one roof — useful for interdisciplinary projects. Choose them when the consortium benefits from a credible non-EU academic partner rather than from leadership capacity.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EuroSea
  A flagship EU blue-economy initiative integrating ocean observing, forecasting, aquaculture and fisheries — UERJ's most substantive recent collaboration.
• ThermaSMART
  MSCA-RISE secondment project on phase-change cooling of microprocessors, showing that UERJ has engineering researchers exchangeable with European labs.
• GLOBUS
  Unusual social sciences participation on European global-justice policy — demonstrates UERJ's breadth beyond STEM.