Overview of Personal Responsibility and Liability
University members who collaborate internationally for teaching or research purposes must do so responsibly.
They must comply with ethical principles , good research practice and the legal framework.
Researchers are personally responsible and, hence, liable that their results are not misdirected or misused (for military purposes for instance) and do not circumvent EU sanctions. Certain research topics and research instruments (e.g. HPC systems) are subject to export restrictions, which means that research partners must not be granted access to them. As violations can lead to severe penalties against individuals, we strongly recommend that all researchers at the university read the export control regulations or, if applicable, the Nagoya protocol (which is an additional protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity).
Third-party funding organisations also stress personal accountability. For example, a joint scientific commission appointed by the DFG and Leopoldina has published recommendations for research security in international cooperation, because "in almost all scientific disciplines, research findings that offer significant opportunities also have the potential to be misused". In line with the DFG's Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice, the recommendations emphasise "the ethical responsibility of individual researchers who can and must use their knowledge and experience to make personal decisions about justifiable courses of conduct, and their limits".
University members will be held accountable if it becomes known that they stigmatized, alienated or discriminated students and/or academic colleagues from non-liberal institutional environments. Anti-discrimination counselling is available.
The University's Duty of Care as an Employer - applicable within the scope of a work-related activity abroad for all individuals who are in an employment, training or civil service relationship with the University of Göttingen (e.g. social insurance, accident insurance, travel medical advice, emergency management) - can be viewed here.
University members in leadership positions have additional responsibilities towards their team:
- Provide guidance and tailored technical support on data and digital security to help manage data theft and surveillance risks in repressive settings.
- Set up an emergency procedure to deal with cases of harassment, detention or disappearance.
- Create awareness and understanding among students and staff of how repressive settings can affect academic freedom and introduce standards within the team when collaborating with partners in repressive settings. For example, KNOW HOW is an online self-learning tool to prevent sexualized violence.
Questions can be addressed to: international@uni-goettingen.de