Approved projects PROBRAL and PROPASP with Brazil will start soon

The scientific and academic cooperation between WWU and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil will receive new important impulses through two recently approved projects within the framework of the PROBRAL and PROPASP calls for proposals. PROBRAL and PROPASP are joint calls for proposals between the DAAD and the Brazilian funding agencies CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and FAPESP (The São Paulo Research Foundation), respectively, in the so-called PPP programme "project-related exchange of persons".

In this programme, the DAAD, together with its partner agencies, supports bi-national research high scientific standard projects with the aim of strengthening the scientific relationship between German and foreign institutions and promoting research activities in partnership. The research projects are intended in particular to give young researchers the opportunity to gain qualifications in an international scientific environment.

PROBRAL Project - GLOSUS (CAPES-DAAD)

The project "GLOSUS - The Global Geographies of Sustainability" is coordinated by Prof Luciana Oliveira de Royer (Institute of Architecture and Urbanism - USP) and Prof Samuel Mössner (Institute of Geography - WWU) and continues the fruitful cooperation between USP and WWU within the second funding phase of the DAAD-funded strategic partnership project "wwu.usp" (2019-2021).

Building on the results of the wwu.usp workshops on the focus topic "Cities and Climate", Prof. Luciana Oliveira de Royer and Prof. Samuel Mössner are now turning their attention in the new project to the more fundamental questions related to the global, hegemonic concept of sustainability.

GLOSUS addresses the conflicts and debates around the concept of sustainability and its conflicting interpretations when it comes to issues of social justice and democratic decision-making. In particular, the project addresses the contested relationship between global narratives on sustainability and their implementation at the local level.

The project aims at mutual learning about the production of local, vernacular knowledge and the importance of a "sense of place", which holds great potential for more nuanced and localised debates on sustainability. During the funding period (two years), up to seven doctoral and postdoctoral students as well as master's students from both institutions are expected to benefit from this collaboration. Workshops, research stays, excursions and the presentation of results at congresses are planned. The coordinators of the GLOSUS project are aiming for a long-term partnership to promote joint research and teaching activities in the field of sustainability.

PROPASP Project - Physics (FAPESP-DAAD)

The project coordinated by Prof Bart Jan Ravoo (Organic Chemistry Institute and Center for Soft Nanoscience - WWU) and Prof Andréa de Camargo (Institute of Physics São Carlos - IFSC/USP) aims at the development of Chemical and Biological Sensors based on functionalized Luminescent Nanoparticles. The research area offers numerous opportunities of innovation in the development of compact, low-cost and highly sensitive detectors based on visible light response.

Target analytes can range from important biological markers of disease to environmental pollutants and harmful microorganisms. Particularly interesting, are the point-of-care (POC) devices that can be user-operated, in a discardable or reusable fashion, and which allow fast and regular control of health-related analytes. During the period of two years, up to six students and postdoctoral fellows from WWU and USP expected to benefit from the cooperation and workshops are planned in both institutions.

Through this initiative, the coordinators intend to set the grounds for future, larger collaborative projects, funded by Brazilian, German and European agencies.