The CASI project

The starting point is that changes in the world around us have made international academic collaboration more complex.

Factors that have contributed to increased complexity are:

• geopolitical changes,
• security policy conflicts,
• decline of democracy, and
• reduced scope for academic freedom.

Institutions of higher education need a solid basis to manage changes and to make strategic decisions regarding international collaborations. Risk assessment needs to be strengthened, exit strategies designed and security awareness increased.

By exchanging knowledge and experience, using each other's competences, and coordinating external monitoring and analysis, the idea is that CASI can streamline and ensure the quality of international work. The idea is also to create a better opportunity for rapid information sharing and analysis in the acute stages of events.

CASI Webinar

Illiberal threats to academic freedom and international collaboration

11 June 2026 at 09:00-10:00

Welcome to a webinar outlining illiberal threats to academic freedom and international cooperation. A presentation by Professor Andrea Pető of Central European University will be followed by reflections on the Swedish context by Professor Shirin Ahlbäck Öberg of Uppsala University. The webinar will be held in English and is jointly organised by Scholars at Risk Sweden and the CASI project. 

Registration link for the webinar

What does CASI do?

Since 2020, the CASI project has developed a framework with a checklist to identify various challenges and risks in connection with international collaborations. Expertise and existing processes have been mapped, benchmarking in relation to other countries and universities has been carried out, and workshops around various case studies have been designed.

The CASI project has also conducted webinars since 2021 open to all higher education institutions in Sweden, one on prerequisites for academic cooperation with Russia and one on cooperation with East Africa.