The UK government has been reviewing universities’ reliance on overseas funding amid concerns that they could be “exploited, or even coerced” by hostile states, the deputy prime minister has said.
Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, said he would be convening a round table of vice-chancellors in coming weeks to discuss the findings, as he warned that the higher education sector could “become a chink in our armoury” in an era of heightened geopolitical tension.
He made the announcement in a speech to the Chatham House thinktank in which he indicated that ministers could introduce new controls on international collaboration relating to sensitive research areas.
There have long been concerns about international co-authorship and funding of UK academic research that could be exploited by overseas powers, with the National Security and Investment Act (NSI) 2021 designed to exert greater government control in this area.
