French-Cuban doctoral training in molecular chemical-physics: 10 years of a successful experience

Abstract

Strong academic relations have been established over the last decade between Cuban and French researchers in the field of molecular chemical-physics. This collaboration, founded on joint PhD projects, have been developed outside traditional bilateral programmes thanks to the energetic involvement of researchers from Instituto Superior de Tecnologías y Ciencias Aplicadas (InSTEC, Havana), several French research labs (Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lille, Orsay, Le Havre, Besancon) and the decisive support of the French Embassy in Cuba. The resulting research projects, whose subjects span from the study of the properties of isolated molecules to that of chemical reactivity in the condensed phase, have greatly benefitted from the excellent level of Cuban higher education in physics and chemistry. The collaboration have been mutually advantageous both in terms of the number of graduates—11 PhD degrees have been awarded to date—and research quality—various tens of scientific articles have been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. Here, we trace the origins, and discuss the evolution and current perspectives of this collaboration, on the light of future French-Cuban academic relations.