UvA critical of feasibility of screening foreign students
To prevent espionage and knowledge theft, the cabinet wants to screen all foreign students who work with ‘sensitive knowledge’. Because it will be years before the measure is implemented, the responsibility for screening now lies with the universities themselves. The UvA has raised critical questions about the feasibility of the plan.
To prevent espionage and theft of technological knowledge, the cabinet is introducing a mandatory screening for all foreign students who deal with sensitive information about Dutch security.
This applies not only to students from outside the EU, but to every non-Dutch student. The measure follows warnings from security services about the risks of foreign interference and knowledge theft, especially by countries such as China and Russia. The University of Amsterdam also sees the danger: the knowledge that needs to be protected is like the university’s ‘crown jewels’, according to a spokesperson.
However, the introduction of the screening measure will take years. The Justis department, which will be responsible for implementation of the screening, will not be able to start screening foreign students and researchers until 2028. Until then, the responsibility will largely lie with the educational institutions themselves.
The Integral Security (Integrale Veiligheid) department of the University of Amsterdam states that the screening is intended to prevent sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands or being influenced in an undesirable manner.
Has the UvA already started setting up such a screening process? Not really. The legislative proposal can still be amended, so the UvA says it is difficult to prepare properly. “At this moment, it is not yet known exactly which studies or research groups will be subject to the screening law. The list of sensitive subjects, which include the studies or research groups that will have to screen foreign students, is still being developed, ” according to the Integral Security Department of the UvA.
For the time being, the screening will only apply to master's and PhD students. According to the UvA Fact Book, at the UvA in the 2024-2025 academic year, this would apply to around two thousand international master's students alone who have not previously been enrolled at the UvA.
How feasible is it to screen such a large group of foreign students? “The number of people to be screened will depend on the topics that are considered sensitive by the ministry,” says a spokesperson for the UvA. “The UvA has made a critical note about the feasibility if the number becomes too large.”
In addition, the spokesperson emphasized that the turnaround time, i.e. how much time a screening takes, is essential for the feasibility of the bill.
