UNIVERZITA PAVLA JOZEFA SAFARIKA V KOSICIACH

Their core work

Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJS) is a Slovak university with growing strength in public health research, protein science, and digital mental health. Their H2020 work focuses on vaccine equity for underserved communities, pandemic preparedness, and implementing digital psychiatry tools in clinical settings. They also run a dedicated protein research program in Eastern Slovakia, combining directed evolution techniques with single-molecule biophysics. Their participation pattern shows a university building international research capacity across health and life sciences from a widening-participation region.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UPJS began its H2020 participation (2016) with diverse interests spanning auditory neuroscience (ALT) and urban history (UrbanHist), reflecting a broad university exploring multiple research directions. From 2020 onward, a clear health-oriented pivot emerged: pandemic response (EU-RESPONSE), digital psychiatry (IMMERSE), and vaccine equity (RIVER-EU) now dominate their portfolio. Alongside this health focus, CasProt shows a deliberate push to build protein science capacity in their region, suggesting the university is consolidating around life sciences and health.

UPJS is rapidly becoming a health sciences hub in Eastern Slovakia, with clear momentum in implementation research for digital health and vaccine equity — expect them to pursue more applied public health and clinical informatics projects.

How they like to work

UPJS operates mostly as a partner (4 of 6 projects) but has demonstrated coordination capability in two projects (ALT and CasProt), both smaller-scale and focused on building local research capacity. With 70 unique consortium partners across 23 countries, they are well-connected for a university of their size, indicating openness to diverse international collaboration rather than reliance on a fixed group. Their participation in large RIA consortia (EU-RESPONSE, RIVER-EU) alongside smaller coordination roles suggests they are comfortable contributing specialized expertise to big teams while leading where they have regional advantage.

UPJS has worked with 70 distinct partners across 23 countries, a remarkably broad network for six projects. This wide geographic spread reflects participation in large EU-wide health consortia rather than regional clustering.

What sets them apart

UPJS offers a rare combination: a widening-participation university in Eastern Slovakia that has earned roles in major EU health consortia alongside Western European partners. Their CasProt project shows they can build and lead research capacity programs, making them a credible partner for Widening calls and Twinning proposals. For consortium builders, they bring genuine on-the-ground access to Central-Eastern European health systems and underserved populations — valuable for any project needing geographic diversity and real-world implementation sites.

Highlights from their portfolio

• UrbanHist
  Largest single EC contribution to UPJS (EUR 924K) and an MSCA training network — demonstrates capacity to participate in major structured doctoral programs.
• RIVER-EU
  Directly addresses health inequalities in vaccine uptake among underserved communities, a politically and socially urgent topic with strong policy relevance.
• CasProt
  UPJS-coordinated Widening project building protein science capacity in Eastern Slovakia — shows the university actively investing in regional scientific development.