Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group
The Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group (AFIWG) is a new initiative that brings together academics from UK Higher Education institutions, who are supported by relevant civil society representatives and the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG), to strengthen protection for academic freedom and the academic community within the context of the internationalisation of UK Higher Education, broadly defined, by:
- highlighting the fundamental importance of academic freedom to the UK Higher Education sector and its future success;
- assessing the current protection for academic freedom and members of the academic community in the context of the internationalisation of UK Higher Education;
- identifying related risks and gaps;
- promoting a collective response by UK universities, particularly by preparing a model Code of Conduct for the UK Higher Education sector; and,
- facilitating constructive engagement with relevant stakeholders in connection with the above, including to encourage adoption of the Code of Conduct by UK Higher Education institutions, in partnership with their respective academic communities, and develop and share best practice.
To keep updated with AFIWG's activities, you can join the AFIWG's mailing list here.(Opens in new window)
This webpage is kindly hosted by the School of Advanced Study, University of London but the AFIWG is an independent network.
Members of the AFIWG serve in a voluntary capacity. To support its administration the AFIWG has received small grants from the University of Exeter and the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Accelerator Account.
Key Information
- Academic Freedom Media Review(Scholars at Risk)
- ‘Protect academic freedom overseas’, The Times, 17 June 2020
- Academics want say over university deals with hostile regimes’, Charlie Parker, The Times, 12 October 2020
- We face hostile states alone, says academic charged with spying’, Charlie Parker, The Times, 12 October 2020
- Academics warn of 'chilling effect' of Hong Kong security law’, Patrick Wintour, The Guardian, 12 October 2020
- Protecting academic freedom in international partnerships’, John Heathershaw and Eva Pils, University World News, 15 October 2020
- Internet access deal allows Chinese government censorship in our UK university (virtual) classrooms’, Matthieu Burnay, Harriet Evans, Perry Keller, Eva Pils, Tim Pringle, Sophia Woodman USS Briefs, Number 104, 31 October 2020
- Huddersfield University's Bahrain degree 'providing torture hub with legitimacy', Anna Fazackerley, The Guardian, 5 February 2021
- ‘China denounced over ‘grave threat to academic freedom’, Charlie Parker, The Times, 29 March 2021
- ‘Involve academics in confronting academic freedom issues’, Christopher Hughes, University World News, 9 April 2021
- ‘Solidarity statement on behalf of scholars sanctioned for their work on China’
The Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group (AFIWG) brings together academics from UK higher education institutions, who are supported by relevant civil society representatives and the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG), to work on the protection of academic freedom and engage in advocacy for members of the academic community at risk across the world. The group began meeting in September 2019, with the aim of highlighting the importance of upholding academic freedom in the context of internationalisation of UK higher education and promoting a collective and organised response by academic communities and HE institutions in the UK.
In September 2021, the AFIWG has received financial support by the Economic and Social Research Council via the University of Exeter to continue our work with the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group and English PEN, supported by the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara), UCU and Scholars at Risk. Among other things this means we will work towards: 1) Gathering final comments on our Draft Model Code of Conduct ; 2) Debating the final Model Code with UUK, its members, our colleagues and students; 3) Launching the Model Code of Conduct in Parliament and advocating for its adoption by UK universities. By committing to measures of transparency and accountability, and putting these into practice in their own charters and procedures, universities may demonstrate that they are protecting academic freedom from financial, political, and other pressures.
Academics, students and research interests make HE institutions based in the UK international in character, with most members of the academic community benefiting from international links. Members of the AFIWG have themselves made use of opportunities to study and conduct research abroad. Importantly, for some of us abroad means outside of the UK, while for others it means within the UK.
As supporters of international academic cooperation and academic freedom, the AFIWG has been concerned about growing challenges that members of the academic community face globally in the process of learning, teaching and conducting research, including physical attacks, prosecution, dismissals, censorship and travel restrictions.
Challenges to academic freedom may result from repressive government practices. They may also arise or be aggravated by marketisation and an opportunistic approach to building global ties within the higher education sector. Some of these factors may in turn exacerbate the casualisation of academic work and prompt the creation of funding structures that make universities vulnerable to interference by donors. These challenges are on-going, and face all countries, including the UK. As a 2017 University and College Union (UCU) study highlights, “legislative protection for the substantive (teaching and learning) and supportive (tenure and governance) elements of academic freedom” has not been strong in the UK. Free to Think annual reports by the Scholars at Risk Network moreover show that the number of attacks on higher education communities worldwide has been growing over the years. The AFIWG’s concern is that certain aspects of the internationalisation of higher education may aggravate both the direct and more subtle challenges to academic freedom in the UK.
With a specific focus on internationalisation of the UK Higher Education sector, the AFIWG aims to work towards raising awareness and increasing the protection of academic freedom by:
- highlighting the importance of academic freedom internationally;
- promoting measures that protect academic freedom and the academic community in the UK and their partners overseas;
- identifying risks and gaps in academic freedom protection;
- promoting a collective response by UK higher education institutions, particularly by drafting a model Code of Conduct and encouraging its adoption by UK higher education institutions;
- facilitating constructive engagement with relevant stakeholders, and developing and sharing best practices.
Please email us to be added to the distribution list to be sent the draft Model Code of Conduct when it is published, informed about any events, and sent updates about the progress of the Model Code. Please note that we cannot commit to reply to each e-mail individually.
Email us at: AcademicFreedomWG@gmail.com
Follow us at Academic Freedom & Internationalisation WG (@AFI_WG) / Twitter(Opens in new window)
For media inquiries, please contact:
Maureen McTaggart, Media and Public Relations Officer, School of Advanced Study, University of London, maureen.mctaggart@sas.ac.uk / +44 (0)20 7862 8859
The Academic Freedom Working Group is comprised of the following academic members:
- Profess John Chalcraft – Professor of Middle East History and Politics, LSE
- Dr Andrew Chubb – British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Lancaster University
- Dr Andreas Fulda – Associate Professor, University of Nottingham
- Professor John Heathershaw, University of Exeter
- Dr Katarzyna Kaczmarska, University of Edinburgh
- Professor Terence Karran, University of Lincoln
- Dr Corinne Lennox, School of Advanced Study, University of London
- Professor Eva Pils, King’s College London
- Dr Tena Prelec, University of Oxford
- Dr Kelli Rudolph – Head of Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies; Senior Lecturer in Classics and Philosophy, University of Kent
- Dr Sophia Woodman – Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh
- Dr Yeşim Yaprak Yıldız, Goldsmiths, University of London
The AFIWG also benefits from the support of:
- Dr Chelsea Blackburn Cohen, Scholars at Risk
- Dr Christelle Genoud, Postdoctoral Research Associate, King's College London
- Mr Jesse Levine, Scholars at Risk
- Ms Denise Roche, Scholars at Risk Europe
- Ms Nicole Piché, All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (UK)
- Mr Ilyas Saliba is non-resident Fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin and Research Fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center
- Mr Stephen Wordsworth, Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara)
The Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group has been working on a Model Code of Conduct for the Protection of Academic Freedom and the Academic Community in the Context of the Internationalisation of the UK Higher Education Sector. The aim of the Code of Conduct is to enable UK HE institutions to adopt common responsibilities embedding transparency and accountability that will strengthen the protection of academic freedom and the academic community from risks arising specifically from internationalisation of this sector.
The AFIWG has been holding intensive consultations with colleagues, scholars, higher education practitioners and key stakeholders to inform the latest revision efforts of the Model Code of Conduct. The latest draft version can be accessed below.
The AFIWG aims to cooperate with partners to encourage UK HE institutions to adopt the Code of Conduct. The model elaborated by the AFIWG does not intend to replace procedures and processes already in place but promotes the adoption of key minimum standards across UK HE institutions, while acknowledging that concerns of and corresponding measures taken by specific institutions may differ, depending on the fields of study or geographical specificities.
The AFIWG encourages the adoption and implementation of the Code of Conduct to be accompanied by extensive consultation with stakeholders, with special reference to the academic community.
In the model Code of Conduct, academic freedom has been defined with reference to a number of legal and international documents for the sake of clarity. While the AFIWG acknowledges the difficulty in agreeing on a universal and comprehensive definition of academic freedom, members will facilitate and engage in a continuous debate on the meaning and implications of academic freedom during events organised throughout the year and in publications.
- Policy Primer 1: University Governance and Academic Freedom
- Policy Primer 2: Supporting At-Risk Academics
- Policy Primer 3: Foreign Funding and Risks to Academic Freedom
- Policy Primer 4: Enabling Fieldwork in Difficult Environments
- Policy Primer 5: Protecting Academic Freedom in Distance Learning Education
Defining Academic Freedom:
- 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel (Section VI(A))
- The 1988 Education Reform Act Section 202(2)(a)
- 2017 Higher Education and Research Act Section 2(8)(c)
- UCU Statement on Academic Freedom
Guidance for Due Diligence and Risk Assessment Processes:
- Academic Freedom Index Project, Global Public Policy Institute
- Promoting Higher Education Values, Scholars at Risk
- The Global Forum on Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy (Council of Europe)
- Observatory Magna Charta Universitatum
- Managing risks in Internationalisation: Security related issues, Universities UK