Scenario:
A school within the Faculty of Science & Engineering hosted a visit from an overseas company on a key country list who wanted to set up a partnership with the University to carry out research in their field of submersible vehicles. Tours of the school's labs and specialist equipment were given as part of the visit. The visitors were not restricted in the photographs they could take and were given a lot of freedom to explore the labs and equipment, including making use of some of the specialised facilities and given a detailed explanation of how the equipment was produced and its use. The visitors intended to replicate the lab in their home country so took detailed photographs whilst on campus.
The staff providing the tours were experts in the use of the equipment and labs but had not been given a thorough briefing prior to giving the visitors the tour. There had been a lack of communication regarding what level of detail could be given to the visitors and for what purposes they were visiting the University. Staff who had organised the trip had not gathered enough information prior to the visit about the intentions of the overseas company and whether there was a real intention to set up the partnership.
Action:
Due diligence should be carried out at the earliest stage of discussions regarding partnership arrangements with an overseas entity. Overseas partners may attempt to access early-stage development of technology and research, potentially before Items are added to the UK Strategic Export Control list.
Strict protocols for all visiting staff, students, researchers and others should be in place prior to campus visits and tours.
Invitation letters for overseas visitor to the campus should only be issued by senior staff members.
Giving Technology to a visitor from overseas who will take that Technology with them when they return to their country is an export and requires a licence. Care should be given to ensure the relevant licences are obtained prior to the visit, or controlled Technology is not given to the visitor whilst here. Therefore, restrictions on accessing equipment, blurprints, plans, diagrams etc should be in place if a licence is not obtained prior to the visitors arrival.
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