UNIVERSITE PARIS-SACLAY

Their core work

Université Paris-Saclay is one of France's flagship research universities, formed by merging several leading institutions south of Paris. Their H2020 portfolio spans fundamental science — from pure mathematics and algebraic geometry to condensed matter physics and life sciences — with growing applied strength in neuromorphic computing, graphene technologies, and brain simulation. They serve as both a training hub through Marie Skłodowska-Curie networks and an independent research powerhouse with ERC-funded principal investigators across multiple disciplines.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014–2017, Paris-Saclay's H2020 activity was broad and exploratory: planetary science (EPN2020-RI, PTAL), pure mathematics (OpenDreamKit, AlgTateGro), and individual MSCA fellowships in biology and chemistry. From 2018 onward, the portfolio sharpened around three pillars — graphene materials through the Flagship, brain simulation through the Human Brain Project, and spin-wave/magnonics physics. This shift reflects a move from dispersed fundamental research toward concentrated participation in Europe's largest collaborative research platforms.

Paris-Saclay is consolidating around brain-inspired computing and advanced materials physics, positioning itself as a key node in Europe's flagship research programs.

How they like to work

Paris-Saclay operates most frequently as a third party (38 projects) — typically contributing specialist expertise to large flagship consortia like Graphene and the Human Brain Project, rather than leading them. When they do coordinate (23 projects), it is predominantly individual ERC grants and MSCA fellowships rather than large multi-partner collaborations. With 1,031 unique partners across 48 countries, they function as a broad-network institution that connects to many different groups rather than working repeatedly with the same set of partners.

With 1,031 unique consortium partners across 48 countries, Paris-Saclay has one of the widest collaboration networks in European research. Their reach is genuinely global, with especially dense connections across the EU through flagship programs, but also extending well beyond Europe through MSCA mobility networks.

What sets them apart

Paris-Saclay combines world-class pure mathematics (ERC-level algebraic geometry and operator algebras) with applied physics strengths in graphene and neuromorphic computing — a rare combination in a single institution. Their heavy third-party role in both major EU flagships (Graphene and Human Brain Project) means they bring deep specialist knowledge without the overhead of leading massive consortia. For potential partners, this makes them an accessible entry point into Europe's largest research programs.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ONE
  Largest single grant (EUR 2.46M) as coordinator — an ERC project on unified interaction principles running from 2016 to 2023, their longest and best-funded self-led project.
• INsPIRE
  EUR 1.3M ERC Starting Grant for chip-scale mid-infrared photonics — demonstrates their capacity to lead ambitious hardware-oriented research, not just theory.
• OpenDreamKit
  Coordinated a EUR 1.17M effort to build open digital research tools for mathematics (Jupyter, SageMath) — rare example of research infrastructure leadership with direct impact on the global scientific computing community.