Current research collaboration
The Cuba Research Network promotes and supports collaborative research activity between UCL and Cuban partners across all disciplines. In recent years, before the establishment of the Network in 2007, UCL-Cuban collaboration had already resulted in joint research publications in neuroscience, neurology and neurodegenerative diseases (20 articles), chemistry and computational chemistry (21), and infection, immunology and cancer (6). Building on these positive experiences, the Network aims to further develop the substantial potential for UCL-Cuban collaboration.
At present, areas of focus for the development of the Network are in pharmaceutical sciences, climate change response and engineering and social sciences.
Examples of research collaboration activity that the UCL-Cuba Research Network has supported are:
- Havana Sustainable Mobility
- Knowledge in Action for Urban Equality
- Research collaboration on disaster risk reduction and recovery (DRR&R)
- Technology foresighting for urban mobility
- Building innovation capacity through INCUBA-UH
- Accessing climate finance for adaptation in agriculture, and mitigation in energy and transport
Network building for future collaboration
Prospective projects, in the fields of climate change and health, infrastructure financing, transitions towards sustainable and inclusive societies, and medical research, are being developed. Discussions between interested Cuban partners and researchers in the UCL include UCL departments of Biochemical Engineering and Epidemiology and Public Health; Institutes for Global Health and Risk and Disaster Reduction and its School of Life and Medical Sciences.
Cuban research entities exploring collaboration possibilities include: University of Havana, Departments of Biology and Economics; BioCubaFarma, Escuela Nacional de Salud Pública (ENSAP); Centro de Investigaciones de la Economía Mundial (CIEM), Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana (CEEC); Instituto de Meteorología.