Universities must protect mobile staff and students, group says

Higher education institutions need a set of common standards to keep staff and students safe when they travel for work and study, the Coimbra Group of universities has said—and has offered up its own guidance.

Ensuring safety during mobility is a duty of each institution, but legal duties of care are rarely applied to public universities across Europe, the group said in a report published on 9 July.

The report is the group’s attempt to create common safety standards among its 39 member universities in 23 countries, as well as among institutions more broadly. It lists actions that institutions can take to preempt risk when their members travel outside their home country and become exposed to health and security hazards.