Universities are a popular target for acquiring sensitive knowledge and technologies. A possible consequence of this is the undermining of academic freedom and censorship (including self-censorship). Knowledge security helps international collaboration to take place safely and to achieve this, we at VU Amsterdam work according to the VU Framework for Knowledge Security.
It is important that you as a researcher know and recognize the security risks associated with international collaboration, with the aim of enabling such collaboration between scholars to take place as securely as possible. This involves safeguarding knowledge available at VU Amsterdam as well as the safety of the researcher and all those involved in the research project. For more information, please visit this webpage.
High-risk countries
The topic of knowledge security is especially relevant when it comes to appointing PhD candidates or other scientific staff with an affiliation to a so-called high-risk countries (i.e. Russia, Iran, China, North Korea). To enable appointments of individuals from these countries, it is mandatory to perform a Knowledge Security Check
Conducting research in countries with a high risk or countries that score low (below 0.4) on the Academic Freedom Index also requires a Knowledge Security Check. The Research Bureau SRT in collaboration with the Policy Officer of the Graduate School SRT and the HR advisor SRT are tasked with performing this check within the School. The final decision lies with the FSG Faculty Board, with the of Operations being ultimately responsible for Knowledge Security within the faculty.
Contact
If you have question regarding Knowledge Security, please contact the School contact person for Knowledge Security: Rita van der Schriek-Hermans.