The responsible partnerships policy at UCLouvain

International partnerships aligned with our values

UCLouvain has a firm international outlook. Whether in research, mobility or teaching activities, collaborations with universities worldwide are at the core of our mission. To date, our university benefits from numerous research partnerships and mobility agreements across Europe and beyond.

But for a partnership to be meaningful, it must also carry values. That is why UCLouvain commits to developing responsible institutional and international partnerships, ensuring that they are consistent with the fundamental principes that our institution stands up for.

A Charter to guide our collaborations

On 16 December 2024, the Academic Council adopted the UCLouvain Responsible Partnerships Charter,  defining the guiding principles for our international collaborations, resting upon five main elements:

• The respect of human rights.
• The respect of human rights.
• Research ethics and integrity.
• Environmental protection.
• The health and safety of persons.

This Charter completes existing mechanisms, in particular:

• The "UCLouvain Position on projects with military implications", as adopted by the Research Council (Conseil de la Recherche - CREC) on 6 December 2022.
• The regulations to abide with regarding dual-use / misuse, and the request of export licences to the Walloon authorities where necessary.
• The Charter for Responsible International Mobility.
• The Research Integrity Committee, and the ethics committee within the institutes.

UCLouvain also adheres to international Charters:

• The Magna Charta Universitatum, regarding academic freedom.
• The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.
   

Assessing the risks of a partnership: who is involved

The partnership project promoters are the first stakeholders of this policy. They are the ones who, in the first place, assess the risks connected with their potential partnerships. To this end, a self-assessment questionnaire is at their disposal, designed to help them identify the potential impacts that their collaboration project may have on the elements mentioned hereinabove.

They can rely on the competent university departments to support them in the process, in particular

• The International Relations Department, for mobility projects or institutional cooperation agreements.

• The Research Department, for scientific collaborations.

These departments conduct a complementary risk analysis and issue their conclusions and advice, in collaboration with the relevant university authorities.

For the most sensitive cases, UCLouvain has established a Responsible Partnerships Committee, in charge of assessing the compliance of institutional partnerships with the Responsible Partnerships Charter. The Committee may intervene as a complement to existing ethics committee, and brings along a reinforced reasoned opinion on the risks associated with a partnership.

Are you a project promoter at UCLouvain?

➡️ Log in to the UCLouvain intranet to access all support tools and mechanisms linked with responsible partnerships.