UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES PRIFYSGOLDE CYMRU

Their core work

The University of South Wales is a Welsh university that has built notable research capacity in migration policy, security governance, and cybercrime strategy within the EU context. Through hosting multiple Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows, USW has developed focused expertise in how European institutions manage migration flows, border security, and law enforcement cooperation in the digital age. Beyond social sciences, the university contributes technical research in next-generation telecommunications (THz-based 5G networks) and participates in large-scale European research infrastructure and circular economy projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

USW's early H2020 involvement (2015–2018) centered on applied technical topics — cloud-based manufacturing (CREMA) and urban bio-waste processing (RES URBIS) — where the university joined as a minor partner or third party. From 2018 onward, a decisive shift occurred toward social sciences and security studies, with USW coordinating four consecutive MSCA fellowships focused on migration governance, border securitization, cybercrime strategy, and 5G telecommunications. This transition signals a university actively building research groups around policy, governance, and security themes by attracting international fellows.

USW is consolidating as a host for policy-oriented MSCA fellows, with a growing concentration in EU security and migration governance — expect continued strength in these areas.

How they like to work

USW predominantly leads projects rather than joining as a partner — four of seven projects were coordinated by USW, all through the MSCA Individual Fellowship scheme, which means they host visiting researchers rather than manage large consortia. When participating in others' projects (ARIADNEplus, RES URBIS, CREMA), they join large consortia with many partners, which explains their broad network of 88 partners across 28 countries despite a modest project count. This pattern suggests a university that is an effective host institution for individual researchers while selectively contributing specialist input to larger collaborative efforts.

USW has worked with 88 unique partners across 28 countries, a remarkably wide network for just 7 projects, driven largely by participation in large-scale infrastructure and innovation consortia like ARIADNEplus and RES URBIS. Their geographic reach spans most of Europe without a strong regional concentration.

What sets them apart

USW occupies an unusual niche by combining deep social science research on EU migration and security policy with technical telecommunications work — a rare dual competence. Their strength as an MSCA fellowship host makes them an attractive destination for early-career researchers who want to work on European governance challenges from a Welsh university with strong EU connections. For consortium builders, USW offers genuine expertise at the intersection of technology and security policy, particularly for projects examining how digital tools reshape law enforcement and border management.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ReMiCom
  Tackles the politically sensitive topic of return migration to Africa, directly engaging with EU-IOM policy and multilevel governance across complex emergency contexts.
• 5G-ACE
  Demonstrates USW's technical breadth — coordinating frontier research on terahertz-based 5G small cells, a topic far removed from their dominant social science portfolio.
• ARIADNEplus
  A major pan-European research infrastructure project integrating archaeological datasets across the continent, showing USW's capacity to contribute to large-scale data networking initiatives.