UNSW Canberra limits research collaborations with Chinese Universities amid rising military tensions
- In Reports
- 07:38 PM, Aug 21, 2024
- Myind Staff
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Canberra, where future leaders of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) study, has decided to limit its research collaborations with Chinese universities. This move comes amid growing military tensions between Australia and China.
Since the 1980s, UNSW has provided academic education to officer and midshipman cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra. It also offers postgraduate programs for Defence civilians and other students. In recent years, many international students at UNSW Canberra were from China, and the university continues to offer PhD scholarships to Dongguan University in Guangdong province.
However, recent developments indicate a shift in UNSW Canberra's approach to research collaborations. The university has informed its staff that "collaborative research projects involving academics affiliated with Chinese universities will not be supported." This policy change applies specifically to UNSW Canberra, while UNSW Sydney remains unaffected.
An internal message sent to UNSW Canberra's academic schools stated that the university would no longer lead projects involving Chinese universities. However, research with China is still allowed if it receives approval. Several postgraduate courses at UNSW Canberra are closely linked to the ADF, including the Master of Explosive Ordnance, which is taught to defence staff involved in Australia's new Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.
In a statement to the ABC, UNSW Canberra emphasised the importance of managing risks in collaborations: "Any university-level collaborations which UNSW seeks with countries or institutions considered high-risk are thoroughly risk-managed" through various government agencies.
The statement also highlighted UNSW's commitment to security and compliance, "UNSW takes its security and compliance obligations very seriously and requires its academics to regularly disclose their individual foreign affiliations and helps academics risk manage collaborations with partners considered high-risk or involving critical technologies."
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson welcomed UNSW Canberra's decision but urged the institution to go further by removing any academics with ties to the Chinese government. "Of all our universities, UNSW's campus at ADFA should be the most secure — it's where our future defence force leaders are trained," Paterson said. He added, "No academic with ties to the Chinese government should be employed there with access to the next generation of ADF officers. Defence must issue an urgent 'please explain' to UNSW about these apparent connections and any security risk they present."
This decision by UNSW Canberra follows broader concerns within Australian universities about changes in defence export rules under the AUKUS partnership. Last year, universities raised alarms about the potential impact of these changes, which could impose strict penalties on unauthorised collaborations with researchers outside the US or UK.
Image source: ABC News
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