Xiaohongshu
As we start a new term and many of you return to campus, we want to share where we stand on UCL’s membership of the Defence Universities Alliance (DUA).
We oppose the increased militarisation of higher education and will scrutinise any steps that move UCL further in that direction. We understand your fears and we share your concerns about the possibility that an expanding strategic relationship with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could increasingly influence research priorities, institutional direction, and career pathways - particularly if this leads to greater emphasis on weapons development or military capability. We will continue to scrutinise where the boundaries are drawn and what safeguards are in place to challenge and prevent defence priorities from becoming university priorities by default.
UCL’s membership may be news to you, if so, here’s some background - over the summer, UCL applied and was accepted as a founder member of the Defence Universities Alliance (DUA), a UK Ministry of Defence initiative. 35 universities are part of the new alliance. It states that its three core objectives are advancing defence research, promoting defence careers, and fostering industry partnerships.
Information in the public domain about the DUA is limited beyond a four-page charter that alliance members have committed to. Member institutions will begin to shape and define the goals of the DUA over the coming months, and we do not yet know where that will lead.
What we do know is that through the charter, universities including UCL have committed to "actively growing research and development activity and capacity in defence and national security relevant fields and technologies to support defence aims and objectives".
We are currently in serious and ongoing conversations with UCL leadership and relevant university bodies about what UCL’s future involvement in the DUA should look like.
We have been assured that at present, UCL is maintaining its existing research activity, and nothing about UCL’s research or education provision has changed as a result of the DUA. No commitments made since the Alliance launched have been acted upon. We hope this gives you some reassurance about the current situation, but we know that this can feel scary and goes against the direction so many of us want our university to move in. We will communicate directly and promptly with students as these conversations develop.
One area where we haven’t had reassurance yet is what would make UCL reconsider its place in the alliance. We’ll continue to push for clarity on this over the coming weeks and months.
Universities have a critical role to play in building international cooperation, strengthening social cohesion, and shaping societal values through policy and education – especially during times of heightened global volatility. Many of our students have even been directly or indirectly affected by war. Our concern is rooted in a belief that universities are fundamentally about the public good, and that feels in direct conflict with becoming a vehicle for governments to advance their military ambitions.
While the Government presents this as a way to strengthen national security, innovation, and skills, its expansion into higher education also raises legitimate questions about the autonomy of universities, and the extent to which they are influenced by the current government’s priorities. We hold further concerns about the direction of university research, and how students and staff are involved in decisions of this significance.
What we're doing about this:
- Raising these concerns directly with UCL leadership and UCL Council, where relevant decisions and disclosures sit.
- Asking the University for clarity on exactly what categories of research and partnership DUA membership commits UCL to, rather than accepting general reassurances.
- Pushing for meaningful student input into future decisions on defence-related investment or collaboration, before those decisions are made, not after.
- Keeping the issue under regular review, rather than treating the current position as settled.
- Developing Students’ Union Policy through our democratic processes to set out our view on UCL research with military application.
- Raising the issue nationally, as universities across the UK are affected by this decision. At the Labour Party Conference, Christian challenged UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on the DUA and raised student concerns about the increased militarisation of university campuses. As a result, Streeting has said he is willing to meet with sabbatical officers to discuss our concerns.
We will keep updating you as these conversations develop. If you have views or concerns that you want us to take into those discussions, please get in touch with any of us directly.
In solidarity,
Students’ Union UCL Sabbatical Officers