UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO - BRAZIL

USP strengthens agreements and partnerships with leading universities in England

The university signed agreements with Imperial College London and the University of Oxford; in Cambridge, the proposal to promote joint workshops to define strategic research areas was discussed

https://jornal.usp.br/?p=756759
Published: May 15, 2024
By Adriana Cruz

(From left to right) USP’s rector, Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior; ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota; and Imperial College London’s rector, Hugh Brady, at the signing of the agreement held at the Embassy of Brazil in the United Kingdom – Photo: Thomas Angus / Imperial College London.

USP and Imperial College London signed an agreement on May 14th to expand teaching and research activities in areas such as public health, engineering, energy and energy transition, and artificial intelligence. The agreement also aims to enhance mobility and scientific collaboration between the academic communities of both institutions.

The signing ceremony took place at the Brazilian Embassy in London, where the rectors of both universities – Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior from USP and Hugh Brady from Imperial College London – were received by the Brazilian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Antonio de Aguiar Patriota.

The partnership between USP and Imperial College is longstanding and has already resulted in several important projects. Last year, for example, the two universities launched the Transition and Climate Change Scholarship Program to support academic exchanges for short sabbatical periods of three months. The program aims to develop research on the topic of “energy transition for a healthy and sustainable future.”

Also in 2023, 141 students from USP participated in the Global Challenge Lab to seek solutions related to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7 – Clean and Affordable Energy.

In addition, in London, USP signed a memorandum of understanding with the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford for the development of joint research projects on climate, ecosystems, and energy, as well as the exchange of researchers and students.

At the University of Cambridge, USP’s rector met with Anne Ferguson-Smith, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. The two leaders discussed the intention to promote joint workshops to define strategic research areas for both institutions.

“Our activities in London were very productive. We signed agreements with important universities. These agreements foresee concrete actions, which will be implemented immediately, such as reciprocal visits of professors and joint research projects. Some contacts in Cambridge were initiated in the environmental and artificial intelligence fields, and there is great interest from English universities in the centers recently created by USP and the possibility of implementing joint laboratories,” highlights Carlotti.

Also part of the USP delegation were Rodrigo Calado, the Provost for Graduate Studies; Sérgio Proença, the Provost for International Cooperation; and Júlio Meneghini, the coordinator of the Center for Studies of Greenhouse Gases (RCGI).