Universities unaware of threats from autocratic states, say MPs

Push to recruit students from overseas could be damaging academic freedom

Universities are “not alive” to the threat posed by autocratic states to academic freedom in the UK because of their desire to recruit international students, parliament’s foreign affairs committee has claimed.

According to a report published on 5 November, autocracies including China are seeking to “shape the research agenda or curricula of UK universities, or limit activities on university campuses”, and not enough is being done by institutions to “protect academic freedom from financial, political and diplomatic pressure”.