In an insightful and compelling article in University World News, John Heathershaw and Eva Pils argue concisely for UK universities and universities in general to protect themselves from authoritarian and demagogic practices in the nations of their paired academic institutions.
Whilst acknowledging the myriad benefits that internationalisation has brought to the university sector, such as collaboration, joint degree programmes and the ease of travel for students and scholars which broadens horizons, the writers acknowledge that internationalisation comes with its own set of risks.
Highlighting that the world is currently in a state of ‘democratic retrogression’ the writers acknowledge that the academic community is increasingly facing censorship, travel restrictions, disciplinary measures, dismissals, criminal prosecutions and even physical attacks.
Such repression, they argue has become internationalised due not only to the ability of repressive governments to extend their reach across borders, but also due to marketised funding structures, casualisation of academic work and the opportunistic approach to building global ties adopted by senior management in universities. All of which has made academics more vulnerable and less willing to stand up for academic freedom and integrity.
The pandemic appears to have made these conditions worse. With many academics feeling overburdened by the challenges brought about by COVID, they may feel even more reluctant to engage in protecting academic freedoms, so as not to rock the boat too much.
In order to not lose ground, Heathershaw and Pils have a few suggestions.
The first one that they suggest and then immediately dismiss is denial, they argue that denial will only make things worse and will solve nothing.
Then there is the suggestion of balancing academic freedom with internal academic collaboration which is also dismissed due to being inadequate and fundamentally misunderstanding the value of academic freedom.
They also point to the steps the UK government has started taking to deal with the threats to the education system, such as developing security guidelines and risk management strategies, but again the authors believe such a response is inappropriate.
Heathershaw and Pils argue that UK universities are global institutions, not simply national ones, and therefore any attempt to cut them off from foreign influence would make the problem they face worse. Why? Because by instituting some sort of security approach would give authoritarian states ammunition to argue that they are vehicles of British ‘soft power’ and a trojan horse for spies.
Instead, they argue that a far better approach would be to adopt a bottom-up process led by academic staff, supported by students, civil society and unions.
A proposed Draft Model Code of Conduct for UK higher education institutions to bestow duties on them to protect their academic communities at home and abroad and be transparent and accountable to their members has been drafted by the Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group (AFIWG), this the writers argue should be used as a guiding beacon for how to protect academic freedom.
Within the code, there includes a stipulation that universities must undertake meaningful risk assessment and due diligence when transnational collaboration is being considered before any agreement or arrangement is begun.
Furthermore, they must ensure memorandums of understanding on international partnerships, including foreign campuses and the affiliation of foreign education or research institutions to UK higher education institutions within the UK are subject to consultation across the university.
To protect their staff and students overseas, universities have to evaluate academic freedom and the risks associated with its absence, especially when planning fieldwork and field trips abroad and to ensure that enhanced travel insurance is available to cover politically motivated or arbitrary detention by state authorities.
To protect academic freedom at home it is recommended by the authors that all Memorandums of Understanding include a commitment to protect basica freedom requirements such as personal data protection.
All in all an important step forward for protecting academic freedom, and one which can evolve as the climate changes.
International Higher Education 