Academic freedom

With the EU preparing stricter rules on research collaborations with China, Hungarians are protesting against the €1.5B campus Fudan University wants to build in Budapest. But for some, putting limits on cooperation will undermine democratic values

Hungary is seeking €4B from the EU pandemic recovery fund to support changes to funding system that critics believe amounts to privatising public universities. This will limit academic freedom, they say

The Bonn Declaration on Freedom of Scientific Research commits governments to an EU system for monitoring academic freedom. Along with safeguarding research from political intervention, the move aims to increase public trust in science

The relocation to Vienna won’t be reversed, but following the ruling CEU plans to reinforce its remaining foothold in Budapest

The donation, to fund a new global network of universities, is in addition to $750M Soros announced in November to assist Budapest-based Central European University in its enforced move to Vienna

As he fights to keep his university from falling to protesters, Ennio Vivaldi, alongside colleagues, is using research to expose police brutality and lay the ground for a new constitution

Foreign influence on universities is reshaping research agendas and leading to self-censorship, foreign affairs committee says

New law will hand oversight of research institutes to a new agency headed by minister of innovation and technology. Researchers say that limits academic freedom; the government says it will modernise the system

The government plans to establish a new body - under its control - to manage the research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, after negotiations over future status come to a halt

The academy says it ‘went into great lengths’ to satisfy government demands on how the research institutes are organised