Knowledge Security - A Moral Enquiry
Tuesday January 16th 2024, 13:30 – 17:00 | TU Delft - Aula

Knowledge Security - A Moral Enquiry

International cooperation between the academic world, research bodies and the private sector fuels high-value research and makes scientific advances possible. At the same time, new global powers rise through anti-democratic and authoritarian means, negating and often violating human rights. In so doing, they seek to take advantage of new knowledge and scientific advancement. Increasingly, discomfort is growing in the academic world when it comes to cooperation and partnership.

• How can we possibly weigh our academic values against the potential for the misuse of scientific development?
• How can we decide, as researchers and as institutions, when to cooperate, or not, and under which conditions?
• How do we ensure the advancement of science while protecting Dutch citizens as well as citizens globally?

TU Delft has, like many universities, sought an approach for dealing with these questions and more. In 2021, alongside other initiatives on knowledge security, the TU Delft established a pilot commission, whose task was to carry out a moral enquiry into decisions about international cooperation and knowledge security, facilitated by Governance & Integrity International. The results are documented in the report “Knowledge security: a moral enquiry”.

During the afternoon, we will share our reflections, insights, and perspectives in the contexts of TU Delft’s wider approach to knowledge security. Participants will also experience a live demonstration of the moral deliberation and gain deeper insight into how it works in practice. Finally, members of the commission, TU Delfts own academics, will share their reflections and lessons from the moral enquiry.

The plenary programme will be in English, and demonstrations of the method (breakout) will be available in both Dutch and English.

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Click bellow to view te report (eng).