By Gabriel Princewill-
Universities UK (UUK), which represents 140 universities across the United Kingdom have spoken against any sweeping marginalization of Russian academics by their fellow colleagues in Britain.
The academic body acknowledged some of the challenges that lie ahead as it seeks to uphold the spirit of sanctions against the ruthless Russian regime, following the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. It also recognizes the problem of dealing with students who are participating in an exchange students’ programme from Russia. These students are already tied in a contract with respective universities in the UK for the duration of their course.
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The Independent Schools Council (ISC), a leading body of private schools in the UK representing more than 1,300 private schools, advised schools not to accept fees from Russia. The body warned members that they could ”face legal issues if they accept payments from government-approved individuals”.
However, the leading body appears to have overlooked the fact that pupils in these schools who may have already paid fees are in contracts to continue their education. Rescinding those contracts will inevitably mean refunding any fees already paid, and either providing the rest of their education free, or sending them back to Russia.
The private schools and the UK government face a conundrum in maintaining the punitive measures against Russia via the exclusion of their banks, and preserving the contractual rights of Russian students on an exchange programme in the UK.
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ISC chief executive Julie Robinson said: “Currently, restrictions on individuals and Russian banks mean that schools should not accept fees from these sources.”
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Stuart Croft expressed the challenge in striking an appropriate balance in relation to the need to preserve the pre-existing arrangements underpinning student exchanges, and the standard imperative to uphold sanctions imposed by the UK government against Russian banks, which he acknowledged would be very difficult.
He said he planned to discuss this with the student union.
“Universities, by their very nature, are international and the consequences are this: when everything that is important is at stake, we must speak up,” he added.
Professor Croft said he had written to the Russian ambassador to Britain to protest the attack. A leading body of private schools in the UK has also advised schools not to accept fees from Russia.
In a statement on the situation in Ukraine, published on Thursday, the university body said it does “not support the application of blanket academic boycotts that prevent academics collaborating with other academics as a means of protest against the actions of their governments”.
Its statement added that it was advising member universities to make decisions about whether to continue collaborations with Russian universities or academics on a “case-by-case basis”, informed by Government guidance and “appropriate due diligence”.
The direction from UUK to its members is to “review current and planned activities involving Russian partners in the light of recent developments”, with reference to its published guidance on managing international security issues.
The guidance states that universities should consider “reputational, ethical and security risks” in their processes, and that institutions should carry out “due diligence on all respective overseas partners, for all types of collaboration”.
“The risks to universities are not limited to the theft of intellectual property and data, or the security of university campuses,” the guidance says.
A spokesperson of UUK told The Eye Of Media.Com that there were legitimate concerns of cyber attacks from Russia which could potentially infiltrate the system through universities, as the emphasis of extra caution wa smade.
“There are also threats to the values that have underpinned the success of the higher education sector: academic freedom, freedom of speech and institutional autonomy. These values are rooted in the UK’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law,” the guidance adds.
Peer To Peer Relationships
UUK’s Thursday statement added that “many education and research partnerships are often based on academic peer-to peer relationships”, noting that “many Russian students and academics, at great personal peril, have publicly criticized this invasion”.
It said that its “primary focus” was the support that could be provided to Ukrainian staff and students who are in the UK or who arrived having fled the conflict. UUK said it was using its policy position to address issues such as access to visas and financial support.
And it said that “further to the UK Government announcing a review of government funding for research collaborations involving Russia, we have been providing advice to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and will continue to support our members”.
Student Exchanges
Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Stuart CrfOt expressed the challenge in striking an appropriate balance in relation to the need to preserve the pre-existing arrangements underpinning student exchanges, and the standard imperative to uphold sanctions imposed by the UK government against Russian banks, which he acknowledged would be very difficult.
He said he planned to discuss this with the student union.
“Universities, by their very nature, are international and the consequences are this: when everything that is important is at stake, we must speak up,” he added.
Professor Kraft said he had written to the Russian ambassador to Britain to protest the attack.
Dilemma
At an event hosted by the Chatham House think-tank to discuss the threat to UK universities posed by authoritarian regimes, academics said they faced a “dilemma” about cutting links with Russian universities.
Denise Roche, advocacy manager for Scholars At Risk Europe – which helps protect threatened academics around the world – said there had to be “a pause and an evaluation of certain kinds of collaborations, particularly those that are connected to government agencies and the military”.
“But we shouldn’t forget that a lot of these collaborations across borders tend to be peer-to-peer, and that we have seen a large number of scholars in Russia at great personal cost coming out against this war,” she said.
“We would really have to pause about what would be achieved by a complete and total ban.”
She went on: “It’s a difficult one because we all want to stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Ukraine.”
Warwick University has already pledged to review its ties to Russian institutions in light of the conflict.
On Monday, the university announced it would review all its links to Russian state institutions, with a view to terminating contracts where possible.
Challenges And Consequences
Vice Chancellor and President Professor Stuart Croft said this review would “include student exchanges, and so is very challenging; we will, of course, engage with the Student Union on this”.
“Universities, by their very nature, are international and that has consequences: when all that is important is put at risk, we must speak out,” he added.
In its statement, UUK said it was working to “support Ukrainian staff and students currently in the UK” and those “fleeing the conflict” while also being “mindful of the position of Russian staff and students, many of whom oppose this conflict”.
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