Ethical considerations in international cooperation
Internationalisation entails cooperation with institutions in and from different parts of the world, including countries that differ significantly from Norway in terms of governance, culture and higher education and research systems. OsloMet complies with Norway’s policy for international knowledge cooperation (regjeringen.no) (in Norwegian only), which entails cooperation with prioritised countries across the world. Through responsible internationalisation that safeguards ethical standards, we can help support the principles of institutional autonomy, academic freedom, human rights and sustainable and fair social development.
At the same time, international cooperation can raise ethical dilemmas and potentially reproduce and amplify challenges at the local, national and global level. How do we ensure independent research in projects involving partners in countries where academic freedom is not an established principle? Can international cooperation have negative consequences for the partner or local community? Can informants or other participants be exposed to danger, for example if the project concerns sensitive topics? Should OsloMet participate in cooperation where our staff or students will be involved in activities that may potentially violate our professional ethical standards, for example during field work or placements? Is there a risk of foreign governments exercising negative control over students and researchers on our campuses?
Ethical principles for international relations are enshrined in several national and international conventions, laws and guidelines. In addition, formalised agreements with international partners combined with administrative guidelines are intended to help safeguard ethical principles. There are few clear answers when it comes to ethical considerations in international cooperation, and it will often be a case of striking a balance between different considerations. Staff and students involved in international cooperation need to have an awareness of these issues.
International cooperation at OsloMet shall be based on reciprocity, respect, fairness and transparency. Human rights, academic freedom, anti-corruption, anti-discrimination and respect for people, animals and nature are some of the principles that must always be applied.
OsloMet has prepared the following resources that can be helpful when entering into international cooperation:
- Ethical guidelines for international cooperation at OsloMet (in Norwegian only) is intended to ensure that ethical considerations are incorporated into each international collaboration, agreement or project where OsloMet participates as a partner.
- The staff page on research ethics, including Ethical guidelines for research at OsloMet
- Entering into international cooperation agreements in education (in Norwegian only)
- Agreements and contracts for international research collaborations
Links to other resources that may be useful are provided below:
- Responsible internationalisation: Guidelines for reflection on international academic collaboration (stint.se), STINT, 2020 – the report discusses, among other things, ethical aspects of responsible internationalisation; see section 2.6 in particular.
- Bonn Declaration on Freedom of Scientific Research (bmbf.de)
- Academic Freedom Index (gppi.net)
- SAIH – the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (saih.no) - works to ensure that everyone has access to decent education and academic freedom, to enable them to contribute to a more just and inclusive society
- UN Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs.un.org)
- UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (fn.no)