Belgian university warns staff about working with US peers

A prestigious Belgian university urgently warned its staff in recent days of possible risks of collaborating with American colleges amid United States President Donald Trump’s ongoing crackdown on higher education institutions, writes Elena Giordano for POLITICO.

“The United States government took several measures that threaten the autonomy of universities and academic freedom,” Ghent University (UGent) said in an email to staff that POLITICO has seen the text of, adding that due to its many research collaborations with US institutions, “the university is concerned about these developments”.

The university outlined a set of guidelines and best practices for academics and students traveling to the US, highlighting increased border controls, shifting attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community and the possibility of arrest for researchers who have publicly criticised the Trump administration. UGent also advised researchers working on projects in partnership with US institutions – particularly on “topics the US government considers sensitive (climate change, transgender rights, diversity, equality and inclusion [DEI] programmes)” – to store their data on internal servers.
Full report on the POLITICO site