Nine Chinese universities sign academic freedom pact
The deal, also signed by European, Australian and American schools, aims to define key qualities for research facilities to be effective
The heads of the mainland's nine leading research universities have signed a statement that commits them to work together to advance and uphold academic freedom.
The Hefei Statement on the 10 characteristics of contemporary research universities was announced at the annual meeting of the Chinese C9 League in Hefei , Anhui province, on Thursday.
The statement was jointly drawn up by the C9, the League of European Research Universities (Leru), Australia's Group of Eight universities and the Association of American Universities (AAU). It was signed by the heads of all C9 universities and chairmen of the other associations.
It is the first attempt to provide a shared, global definition of the key qualities that are necessary for research universities to be effective.
The C9 members are Fudan, Nanjing , Shanghai Jiaotong, Tsinghua, Xian Jiaotong and Zhejiang universities, Harbin Institute of Technology, Peking University and the University of Science and Technology of China.
A research university would exhibit "the responsible exercise of academic freedom by faculty to produce and disseminate knowledge through research, teaching and services without undue constraint within a research culture based on open inquiry and the continued testing of current understanding", the statement said.
The statement is intended to foster a policy environment that promotes the standards that underlie the 10 characteristics. By signing it, the four groups committed to work together to advance the characteristics, work with members to ensure their realisation and promote their "foundational nature" in the development of higher education policy.
