New Cognitive Safety Desk: For all your dilemmas

Scientists love to communicate with colleagues from all over the world. Science is very international. The new minister, Robert Dijkgraf, is a good example himself: until recently he worked in the United States.

But cooperation is not always without risks. The government believes that unwanted knowledge transfer and collusive influence can occur in a variety of ways. Higher education and research should be aware of this.

In an online interview, Dijkgraaf spoke of a narrow path between two “trenches”. On the one hand, you can “unlock everything in a naive way”, and on the other hand you can “lock everything, and then it will not get any oxygen.”

thinner pillow

The world changes according to the minister. “The path may be thinner and thinner,” and a lot of people realize that. It is part of research and higher education in 2022. There are many different dimensions to it. There is, in fact, no branch of science in which it does not participate.

Special “guiding principles” should help science make decisions about cooperation with countries such as Russia, China and Iran. The Knowledge Security Office has also been opened, where researchers and administrators can seek advice.

The new 50-page guideline not only addresses issues of national security, cybersecurity, and the employment of researchers; Ethics play a role, too. How do you work with countries where human rights are not respected?

China hardly appears in the text. It just refers to the China Defense University Tracker, where you can find out about the universities associated with the Chinese military. Less than a year ago, the university magazine Delta wrote an article that sparked a lot of controversy: “How TU Delft inadvertently helped the Chinese army.”

wise choices

Ultimately, government relies on self-regulation. Therefore, institutions must make reasonable choices themselves. They should measure that: “Measures relating to security of knowledge must not ‘overturn and lead to arbitrary exclusion, suspicion or discrimination’.”

If organizations cannot find a solution, they can therefore contact the counter. “But the abacus does not monopolize all wisdom, it is not a revelation,” says Djgraf. He also said: This is an intermediate step, everything is in motion. It is an educational organization.

The counter is part of the Dutch Enterprise Agency. Simple questions are expected to take a maximum of three days, and more complex questions a little longer.

Universities and universities of applied sciences contributed to the guideline, as well as the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences and science funder NWO. Several ministries and services of the national government also contributed ideas.