UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARANA

Their core work

UFPR is a major Brazilian federal university with research capacity spanning industrial process engineering, sensor-based measurement systems, and sustainable bioprocess design. In European research, they participated through MSCA mobility schemes as a third-party institution — meaning they contributed by hosting or sending researchers rather than leading technical workstreams. Their documented EU-facing expertise covers tomographic measurement for industrial process monitoring and integrated process design for biorefineries. As one of Brazil's largest public universities, UFPR represents an established non-European academic node for EU consortia that require Latin American partners to satisfy MSCA geographic requirements.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UFPR's first H2020 engagement (2017) was anchored in precision industrial sensing — process tomography, microwave sensors, control theory, and real-time process management for manufacturing environments. By 2018, their focus shifted to bio-economy and biorefinery process design, suggesting a move from hard instrumentation toward sustainable process engineering. With only two projects, this shift may reflect strategic broadening or simply the availability of relevant MSCA calls, and should not be read as a deep institutional pivot without further evidence.

UFPR appears to be moving from precision industrial instrumentation toward bioprocess and bio-economy applications, making them a candidate partner for projects at the intersection of process engineering and green industrial chemistry.

How they like to work

UFPR has participated exclusively as a third-party institution in MSCA schemes, contributing through researcher mobility rather than leading technical work packages. Both projects placed them inside large, multi-country consortia (38 unique partners across 18 countries), consistent with the broad network design typical of MSCA-RISE and MSCA-ITN calls. This positions them as a research exchange node rather than a driving consortium partner, though their underlying departmental capacity likely exceeds what their narrow EU project footprint suggests.

Despite only two projects, UFPR has connected with 38 unique partner institutions across 18 countries, reflecting the wide consortium structures typical of MSCA mobility programs. Their network is European-anchored but extends globally given their Brazilian base as a non-EU third-country partner.

What sets them apart

As one of Brazil's largest and most research-active federal universities, UFPR offers EU consortia a credible Latin American academic partner — particularly valuable for MSCA mobility schemes that require or benefit from non-EU third-country institutions. Their combination of industrial process engineering and emerging bioeconomy expertise is relatively uncommon among Brazilian institutions with demonstrated EU collaboration history. For coordinators building MSCA proposals who need a Southern Hemisphere partner with verifiable EU research links, UFPR is a defensible and documented choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TOMOCON
  A technically ambitious project combining microwave sensing, real-time tomographic imaging, and industrial process control — demonstrating UFPR's connection to high-precision measurement research for manufacturing.
• IProPBio
  Focused on integrated product and process design for sustainable biorefineries, placing UFPR at the intersection of chemical engineering and the EU's bio-economy agenda.