Upholding our values: responding to calls from our university community

This has been a challenging year for many in our community. A group of our students has expressed their deeply felt anguish at the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza, in the form of their encampment on King’s Parade, their recent resolution at the Cambridge SU Student Members’ Meeting, and the views that have formed the basis for the constructive dialogue between members of the University’s senior leadership team and delegates on behalf of the protesting students.

The University firmly supports its students’ right to academic freedom, freedom of speech and the right to protest, all within the law. This has guided our approach to the protests, and our willingness to engage empathetically with all members of our community. We are also aware that there are differing views on the conflict, and that upholding freedom of speech must, under no circumstance, allow for the unlawful discrimination, bullying, intimidation or harassment of any individual or group in our community. We abhor anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism and any other forms of racism. We call on members of our community to continue to treat each other with empathy and civility. Our priority is, and will remain, the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students. We therefore continue to welcome the peaceful conduct of the protests so far, including protesters’ adherence to their stated community guidelines.

The Office for Students has written to us and other universities to remind us of our legal duty to protect freedom of speech and the right to protest within the law, and also to ensure that protests do not disrupt the University’s essential functions or affect the education and wellbeing of other students. The vast majority of taught students have now completed their academic degrees and have been able to enjoy well-earned celebrations at the end of a difficult year.

From the start of this most recent escalation in violence, we have been in very frequent contact with students and staff who have been directly impacted by the war, including members of our Palestinian and Israeli communities, and others who have been directly and indirectly affected by the conflict. We will continue to maintain this vital dialogue and to provide support for our students. We have focused on balancing rights and responsibilities during this difficult time. The right to protest, debate, and challenge ideas, is fundamental to our role as a university, but we do not want any one in our community to feel frightened or unwelcome. Many members of the most directly impacted communities believe that we can, and should, be doing more. We are committed to being a supportive and compassionate institution, and continue to explore how we can provide additional support to those most directly impacted by significant conflict or humanitarian crisis.

One recent response has been the launch of the new Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF), to help to meet unexpected shortfalls in living costs, as well as exceptional caring responsibilities associated with conflict or crisis, including that in Gaza. The initial contribution from the central University is £100,000, and we encourage others, including Colleges and Departments, to contribute in order to sustain this Fund. A number of initial applications to the HRF have already been received, and processed.

Investments

The University’s approach to investment is one of the key issues raised by protesters. The Cambridge University Endowment Fund’s (CUEF) investment model is to invest via third-party fund managers. The CUEF invests donations made to the University, its Colleges and associated charitable trusts; and makes distributions to support the University. All investments in the CUEF are made following an extensive due diligence process as well as compliance with all applicable laws. Distributions from the CUEF play an indispensable role in the University’s Finances. The CUEF is overseen by the Cambridge University Endowment Trustee Body (CUETB), which has set out Responsible Investment Principles. The CUETB defines Responsible Investment as an approach to investment that explicitly acknowledges the relevance to the CUEF of environmental, social and governance factors.

The Students' Union approved motion, various college-level approved motions, and the students protesting with the Cambridge Encampment for Palestine have expressed a concern to us that our current investment may not be in line with our institutional values, especially in relation to the arms/defence industry. The University recognises the strength of feeling within the community. We therefore commit to working with the Task Force and the Working Group (see roadmap below) to review our approach to responsible investment. This will include consideration of ways of defining and monitoring defence exposures within investment portfolios. For the University, as investor in the CUEF, the relevant bodies involved in such a review are the Finance Committee, the Committee on Benefactions and External and Legal Affairs (CBELA), and University Council, working closely with the CUETB. The outcome of this review, and any proposed changes, will be communicated to the CUETB within the timelines mentioned in the roadmap below.

Partnerships and research

The groups that have been making representations to us have requested that we consider our academic partnerships and research relationships.  We believe in openness and transparency in our global partnerships. Our mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. To that end, we engage with universities and academic institutions around the world, and across all fields of academic activity. We expect our global partnerships to be academically driven. When considering who we work with, we rely on a robust process overseen by Committees such as CBELA and the Research Policy Committee. CBELA considers reputational issues in relation to sources of funds for research collaborations and donations. It can take into account ethical considerations in its assessment of reputational risk. CBELA membership includes elected members of the Council including a student member of the Council.

The University’s Research Policy Committee has oversight of strategic relationships with research partners, as well as oversight of industry and international partners in research.  The Advisory Group on Research Purpose advises CBELA on certain sources of funds and could in future play a role in advising on collaborations with defence companies. The University commits to reviewing  the guidelines that inform academic and industry research ties and collaborations with companies including those falling within the arms/defence category, working through the relevant University committees, and in dialogue with the working group and task force (see roadmap below). Should these reviews propose any change in approach to research partnerships, these will be implemented by the relevant Committees and/or administrative units of the University.

Support for academics and students at risk

The University welcomes students from around the world, including conflict zones. We are an open and international community, and the city of Cambridge itself has City of Sanctuary status. In February 2024 the University of Cambridge signed the pledge to become a University of Sanctuary. It will submit its full application in September 2024, which is the next available opportunity, with active involvement and support from the Colleges. In addition, Cambridge supports the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), an organisation that provides urgent assistance to academics facing immediate danger, forced exile, or who choose to continue working in their home countries despite significant risks. In October 2023, the University increased its support for CARA’s Fellowship Programme, enabling it to welcome up to three more Palestinian fellows per year. The University commits to increasing its funding to CARA and the Rowan Williams Fund to enable the number of Palestinian fellows supported to increase in the academic year 2024-2025 and onwards. As a result of this commitment, a Palestinian scholar has already been accepted to come to Cambridge shortly with their family.

We share the horror of our students at the loss of life, and the appalling destruction of education institutions and infrastructure in Gaza. We are keen to convene and support the processes of reconstruction that will follow the cessation of violence, building on knowledge and expertise within Cambridge (including our colleagues in the Faculty of Education and Cambridge University Press and Assessment), and committing our own networks and resources to ensure that these processes reflect the needs of the Palestinian people. The University also commits to expanding the academic support schemes open to impacted Palestinian students through (but not limited to): undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships, fully funded residential placements for visiting doctoral students, fully funded residential placements for academics, clinical placements for medical students, individual grants for researchers from Palestine.

In addition, the Institute for Continuing Education (ICE) has recently offered places to Palestinian students to attend the University of Cambridge’s International Summer Programme free of charge. Using a combination of sources, ICE, participating colleges and the University will cover the cost of the tuition and accommodation for the period of the course, and travel, visas and other expenses.

We will work with our colleagues in the University’s Development and Alumni Relations office, and with Colleges, to raise additional resources to support these efforts. Work on these programmes will begin as soon as possible, with a particular focus on new scholarships being available for the next admissions cycle (for arrival in October 2025).

Roadmap and commitments

We are aware that the students who have been participating in the protests are seeking firm commitments and a clear roadmap. In light of where we are in our current academic cycle, many of the governance processes that comprise that roadmap will not convene till the start of the new academic year. This is not a reason for inaction in the intervening period, and we propose to establish a working group that will continue the dialogue that has already started, which will work through the summer and prepare for input into the committees that are responsible for next steps, beginning with their first meetings. The University fully commits to this process and its various streams of work. We will ensure that the review processes relating to responsible investments and research relationships outlined in this document take place rapidly during Michaelmas Term 2024, with the aim of arriving at initial positions by the end of the term. The University will also keep the community updated on progress throughout.

We are also aware that the students would like their views to be represented in the consideration of these important issues and have proposed to set up their own task force, which will form part of the working group that we intend to establish. We welcome this engagement. We expect that this task force will elect its own members, and will be self governing. Members of the task force will become part of the wider working group, which will be expected to make recommendations to subsequent meetings of the relevant governance committees that oversee policies in relation to research, investments and partnerships. The overall process will be conducted in a spirit of collaboration and transparency and there will be an iterative dialogue between the University’s committees and the task force as well as the working group throughout the development of the policies. We will treat the opinions of the students on the task force with respect, and expect the working group to develop consensual approaches to arrive at their recommendations. The wider University community will be provided with regular updates on progress towards these commitments made by the University, its relevant committees, branches, or institutions, and the working group.

As we write this, our thoughts remain with all those who are affected by the tragic events taking place in Gaza, other parts of Palestine, Israel and elsewhere, and we hope that the painful process of rebuilding lives and institutions can start in earnest. This will be a long journey, and we are committed, as an institution, to playing our part in these processes.

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice Chancellor

Professor Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for University Community and Engagement

Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education