Students in the University Council frown upon framework for new collaborations

The new Integral Assessment Framework offers UU scientists tools on how to deal with risks and ethical objections to research collaborations, including those with foreign institutions and companies.

The framework (access restricted to those with a Solis ID) was highly anticipated as it was the Executive Board's response to all the pressure from the university community, which demands a more critical approach to collaborations with Israeli universities and the fossil fuel industry.

In 2023, UU announced that it would no longer collaborate with fossil fuel companies that do not commit to the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. However, the new framework makes certain exceptions, so it remains possible for the university to enter partnerships with companies that do not meet the criteria.

Fossil fuel industry
The student section of the University Council is critical of the framework and feels that it ‘does not look finished’. According to parties Vuur and PvdUS, the university is ‘not strict enough’ regarding new collaborations with the fossil fuel industry.

Vuur and PvdUS want UU to only collaborate with companies that get a ‘green’ score on their short and medium-term greenhouse gas reduction targets. Currently, an ‘orange’ score is enough to pass the test proposed by the framework.

Meanwhile, the right-wing party VSP disagrees with the other parties. VSP would like cooperation with these partners to be unlimited, so they find the framework 'too strict'. In their view, the restrictions on the fossil fuel industry go ‘against the academic freedom of individual researchers’.

Israel 
Vuur and PvdUS want a partner test to be added to the ‘knowledge security framework’ that specifically addresses research collaborations that pose a security risk. In addition, the document should state that partnerships in occupied territories should not be allowed.

The student delegation is referring to Israeli institutions that are based in an occupied Palestinian area or have a branch there. Last year, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal. Rector Henk Kummeling said in a University Council meeting held last year that UU does not accept collaborations in occupied territory.

Ethical considerations
Vuur judges the collaborations with Israeli universities harshly. In their view, it is ‘unacceptable’ that Israeli partners are ‘complicit’ in the oppression of Palestinians. UU announced last year that all collaborations with Israeli organisations would continue because they did not contribute to human rights violations.

The staff delegation of the University Council welcomes the Integral Assessment Framework. They believe that the framework offers ‘a guide for researchers, research support officers and managers about the ethical considerations that must be made in research'. As far as the staff delegation is concerned, it is now time to examine if the framework works in practice. They are ‘strongly committed’ to an interim evaluation.