As geopolitical pressures increase, so too do demands to balance the positive aspects of international collaboration with more careful consideration of which collaborations may pose risks. It is now not uncommon for issues relating to "national security" to feature on the University’s agenda.
To make it easier for individual researchers/research teams to navigate the process, the University has a unified framework, GRE, which is part of our Global Dynamic Engagement, GDE. An important part of this is a checklist that is also used in many contexts nationally. The checklist does not provide ready-made answers, but poses questions that need to be considered when entering into new collaborations. Some faculties, such as the Faculty of Engineering (LTH) and the Faculty of Medicine, have drawn up their own lists and guidelines. At these faculties, export control issues are also more prominent, and require more precise processing.
Following a Government decision earlier this year stipulating that higher education institutions are to develop responsible internationalisation and the respective authorities are to draw up guidelines tailored to their activities, a review and revision is now being carried out at LU.
The review is being coordinated by the Division of Global Engagement, and is to be completed by the end of the year. Under the International Council is a working group specifically for GRE, with representatives from the faculties. The group will of course be active during the autumn and work on these guidelines.
Opinions tend to differ and we are facing a more complex world. If we are to safeguard the values inherent in international cooperation, we must simultaneously improve both our risk assessment and risk management. Part of this work therefore involves further developing what the Government refers to as “activity-specific guidelines”.
Closely linked to Global Responsible Engagement are issues of information security, research data and the challenges surrounding security in general. LU Estates is home to the chief security officer and the division has responsibility for security issues in the broad sense. Ethical considerations and issues such as human rights also have their rightful place in the deliberations.
I am often asked whether international cooperation was easier in the past. I always respond by saying, “yes, it was easier, but the geopolitical situation has changed.” Rules and lists are not obstacles to international cooperation, they are actually there to help – it is important to remember that!
/ Kristina Eneroth
Read more: