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USP and France partnership fosters high-impact research in strategic areas
The USP-Cofecub Agreement, renewed until 2031, facilitates projects ranging from marine geophysics to the regulation of artificial intelligence, promoting international mobility and cutting-edge training for over 30 years
Photomontage from Jornal da USP made with photos from Wikimedia Commons, Freepik, and USP Images
USP-Cofecub, one of the longest-running and most productive academic cooperation initiatives between Brazil and France, released the results of its most recent call on January 8. The information can be consulted at this link.
The program had its agreement renewed in December, extending the partnership for the 2026-2031 period. Coordinated in Brazil by the USP International Office (Aucani) and in France by the Comité Français d’Évaluation de la Coopération Universitaire et Scientifique avec le Brésil (Cofecub), the program has been a fundamental pillar for the University’s internationalization since 1994.
The central objective is to foster high-level joint research through researcher mobility. The calls, launched annually, prioritize doctoral-level training and facilitate exchange between faculty and students of both nationalities. More than enabling travel, the initiative creates lasting collaborative networks. The approved projects, which cover all fields of knowledge, last up to four years and allow access to complementary infrastructures and the exchange of novel technologies, aligning with USP’s strategic internationalization plans.
For Sergio Proença, president of the USP International Office (Aucani), the program has consolidated France as a preferred partner for the institution. “The program’s characteristics are essentially to support bilateral missions for researchers from USP and French institutions, including the mobility of doctoral students with stays of up to 20 days. Such features have made the program quite attractive, especially for young researchers intending to boost international collaboration activities“, he highlights.
He notes that, despite the reduction in demand during the pandemic, the quality of proposals remained extremely high, and demand may increase in the coming years: “We believe that the faculty renewal process currently underway at USP should lead to a resumption of the program’s great historical appeal”.
Sergio Persival Baroncini Proença – Photo: EESC-USP
Insights from coordinators of ongoing projects:
Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini – Photo: Courtesy of Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini
Innovation in biomaterials for road pavement
“The project focuses on innovation applied to biomaterials in paving, a central theme for sustainable infrastructure. Scientific interaction with the French team has provided high-quality technical discussions, accelerating research progress for both groups. The benefit is significant primarily for doctoral students: the opportunity to interact closely with foreign researchers enables co-authored publications, professional enrichment, and network expansion. The main long-term impact is the consolidation of institutional ties that transcend mobility, establishing solid foundations for future strategic collaborations” — Kamilla Vasconcelos Savasini, coordinator of the Bio4Roads project (School of Engineering).
Particle Physics and the International Environment
“We started in 2025 and have already conducted four exchanges with the Physics Laboratory of the University of Paris-Saclay, resulting in concrete collaborations, such as a scientific paper on particle physics recently published. These visits have been very beneficial for creating an international environment in our department. Our students, by visiting one of the most important groups in Europe in the field, experience firsthand how cutting-edge research works abroad. We believe this exchange will have the impact of creating a lasting collaboration, involving future jointly supervised doctoral theses, which is indispensable for enabling science in a field as globalized as ours” — Renata Zukanovich Funchal, project coordinator in Theoretical Particle Physics (Institute of Physics).
Renata Zukanovich Funchal – Photo: Courtesy of Renata Zukanovich Funchal
Carlos Alberto Moreno Chaves – Photo: Courtesy of Carlos Alberto Moreno Chaves
Seismic exploration and new ocean technologies
“With the Sealink project, in partnership with the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), we will expand the study of the Earth’s interior structure beneath oceanic regions. Cooperation is fundamental for accessing technologies we do not yet fully master, such as ocean sensors and ocean-bottom stations, as well as integrating data from passive and active seismology. We seek to understand fundamental processes, such as Plate Tectonics and ocean floor stability, essential for predicting geological risks and managing natural resources. The legacy will be the training of a new generation of researchers with an international profile, prepared to work with large volumes of data and emerging observational technologies, strategically positioning Brazil in Marine Geophysics” — Carlos Alberto Moreno Chaves, coordinator of the Sealink project (Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences), approved in the latest call.
Advances in skin cancer treatment
“The program’s support was decisive in accelerating our project, enabling us to structure an effective collaboration with the French group from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and the University of Côte d’Azur, and more recently, with the Curie Institute. The partnership enabled the complementary use of advanced infrastructures and access to methodologies unavailable locally. Mobility is the most transformative component: our students expand their scientific repertoire and autonomy abroad, while the French group benefits from the in vitro reconstructed human skin models we develop here. The result is a stable collaborative network, based on trust and complementarity, essential for the structural internationalization of our research” — Silvya Stuchi Maria Engler, project coordinator in Cell Biology and Oncology (School of Pharmaceutical Sciences).
Silvya Stuchi Maria Engler – Photo: Courtesy of Silvya Stuchi Maria Engler
Maria Luisa Lucas – Photo: Courtesy of Maria Luisa Lucas
Historical rescue and reparation
“We work with the ethnographic collections of the couple Claude and Dina Lévi-Strauss. The project was fundamental for accessing archives in France and ‘piecing together the puzzle’ of these objects’ trajectory, allowing us to materially prove the collection’s authorship—a crucial datum for the history of anthropology and museums. Beyond research, the program served as a starting point to raise funds that enabled the trip of Bororo indigenous people to Paris. There, they were able to reunite with objects made by their ancestors in the 1930s, identifying pieces made for sale and reflecting on the strategies their forebears used in their relationship with the anthropologist couple. The project impacts not only academia but also the lives of communities and the history of the discipline” — Maria Luisa Lucas, project coordinator on Ethnographic Collections (Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology).
Artificial intelligence in the fight against tuberculosis
“The USP-Cofecub Program serves as an indispensable strategic tool for deepening academic relationships of excellence. Through the partnership with Université Paris Cité, we have significantly advanced in the complex field of the regulation of artificial intelligence applied to health. The results of this cooperation are already contributing significantly to the ethical and legal debate in Brazil and France, demonstrating how joining international efforts is vital to tackle the regulatory challenges of new global technologies” — Fernando Aith, project coordinator in Health Law and Bioethics (School of Public Health).
João Paulo Ximenez – Photo: Courtesy of João Paulo Ximenez
Fernando Aith – Photo: Courtesy of Fernando Aith
Regulation of artificial intelligence in healthcare
“The USP-Cofecub Program serves as an indispensable strategic tool for deepening academic relationships of excellence. Through the partnership with Université Paris Cité, we have significantly advanced in the complex field of the regulation of artificial intelligence applied to health. The results of this cooperation are already contributing significantly to the ethical and legal debate in Brazil and France, demonstrating how joining international efforts is vital to tackle the regulatory challenges of new global technologies” — Fernando Aith, project coordinator in Health Law and Bioethics (School of Public Health).
English version: Translated and edited by Denis Pacheco
Política de uso
A reprodução de matérias e fotografias é livre mediante a citação do Jornal da USP e do autor. No caso dos arquivos de áudio, deverão constar dos créditos a Rádio USP e, em sendo explicitados, os autores. Para uso de arquivos de vídeo, esses créditos deverão mencionar a TV USP e, caso estejam explicitados, os autores. Fotos devem ser creditadas como USP Imagens e o nome do fotógrafo.
A reprodução de matérias e fotografias é livre mediante a citação do Jornal da USP e do autor. No caso dos arquivos de áudio, deverão constar dos créditos a Rádio USP e, em sendo explicitados, os autores. Para uso de arquivos de vídeo, esses créditos deverão mencionar a TV USP e, caso estejam explicitados, os autores. Fotos devem ser creditadas como USP Imagens e o nome do fotógrafo.