Universities: China

(asked on 10th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to undertake a risk assessment of increasing collaboration, through funding, between UK universities and China.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 17th March 2021

UK universities are international at their core and we encourage them to collaborate with international partners. However, it is important that universities remain security-minded in all international collaboration and are alert to the possible risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or from a single nation.

Following my request, Universities UK published sector guidelines on managing risks in internationalisation in October 2020. The guidelines state that due diligence should be conducted on all international collaborations, including investments, donations, and other sources of income. In my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s guidance to the Office for Students, he also asked the regulator to monitor how universities adopt these guidelines as well as continue to support the sector manage the risks to the reputation, integrity, and sustainability of individual institutions.

We also continue to work closely with other government departments, particularly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which has a strong interest in ensuring that research collaborations properly address security considerations.

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