The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) have renewed their cooperation agreement during the annual meeting of the Brazilian-German Collaborative Research Initiative on Smart Connected Manufacturing (CRI-SCMfg), held on 28 and 29 May at the University of São Paulo Innovation Center (InovaUSP).

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DFG and CAPES Renew Partnership

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The meeting brought together approximately 35 participants, including Dr. Sebastian Heidrich, DFG Programme Director for Engineering Sciences, Priscilla Abreu, Deputy Programme Coordinator at CAPES, and the coordinators in charge of the SCMfg initiative since 2019, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag of the University of Bremen and Prof. Dr. Enzo Morosini Frazzon of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC).

For more than 30 years, the DFG and CAPES have worked together to strengthen research collaboration between Germany and Brazil. A key pillar of this partnership is the CRI-SCMfg initiative, which focuses on production engineering and manufacturing technology. Since 2009, approximately 60 joint research projects involving around 400 researchers from both countries have been funded through the initiative. In addition to supporting collaborative research projects, the network promotes annual meetings that facilitate the exchange of research results with the broader research community and industry partners in both countries.

”The renewal of the partnership between DFG and CAPES confirms the great success and relevance of our long-standing cooperation,” emphasises Michael Freitag, scientific coordinator of the initiative on the German side. ” At a time when production is changing rapidly on a global and digital scale, direct exchange between excellent research teams and strong industry partners is essential. Our joint projects in the field of smart connected manufacturing impressively demonstrate how transatlantic cutting-edge research generates concrete innovations for practical application. The continuation of this agreement secures the foundation to sustainably expand these valuable networks and to jointly tackle new technological challenges.“

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Enzo Frazzon, scientific coordinator of the initiative on the Brazilian side, adds: ”The deep connection between our industry and academia has rich cultural and historical roots. Celebrating 21 years of impact, the CRI-SCMfg research network (formerly BRAGECRIM) was created to structure and scale bilateral relations that previously relied on isolated, individual interactions. By fostering collaborative research and researcher mobility, this enduring partnership delivers dual value to both nations: first, it drives high-impact research that fuels industrial innovation; second, it fosters a new generation of highly skilled engineers equipped to lead the ongoing industrial transformation. Moving forward, the newly renewed academic agreement, combined with the robust institutional and commercial fronts connecting our nations, promises to unlock even greater opportunities for scientific collaboration and industrial competitiveness.”

The renewal of the agreement reflects the continued potential of German-Brazilian cooperation in advanced manufacturing, a strategic field for both countries. Strong industrial ties between Germany and Brazil, further highlighted by Brazil’s role as the partner country at the 2026 Hannover Fair and the opportunities arising from the Mercosur-European Union Agreement, provide a solid foundation for expanding scientific and technological collaboration.

Exploring São Paulo’s Research and Innovation Ecosystem

The annual CRI-SCMfg meeting also provided an opportunity for the DFG delegation to engage with key actors in São Paulo’s research, innovation and industrial landscape.

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In the days leading up to the SCMfg annual meeting, Dr. Sebastian Heidrich and Dr. Christina Peters, Director of the DFG Office Latin America, visited FAPESP to discuss knowledge transfer and the São Paulo innovation ecosystem with representatives of the foundation. These conversations continued at the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH São Paulo), where representatives of research institutions, funding organisations and industry discussed the current state and future prospects of German-Brazilian cooperation in research and innovation.

The delegation also met with representatives of VDI Brasil – Associação de Engenheiros Brasil-Alemanha – and visited leading institutions in manufacturing and innovation, including the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), Embraer’s Technology Innovation Park and the German companies B. GROB do Brasil and Festo Brasil.

These meetings highlighted the strength of São Paulo’s innovation ecosystem, characterised by close collaboration among universities, research institutions, companies, associations and funding organisations. They also underscored the importance of open communication, strong institutional and personal networks as well as mutual trust as key drivers of successful international cooperation.

For the DFG and CAPES, the renewed agreement and the discussions held throughout the week demonstrate that German-Brazilian cooperation in manufacturing technologies remains strong and highly valuable, with significant potential to address shared challenges and develop innovative solutions that benefit both countries. This renewal of the agreement will also benefit researchers in the field of law, since the DFG-CAPES Collaborative Research Initiative covers not only the fields of production engineering and advanced manufacturing, but also the field of law.