UK universities are accepting money from the military and defence sector, building research around arms-trade needs, while also buying shares in arms companies and profiting from those shares. The UK government sees major advantage in hosting weapons-related research in universities, seeing arms development as falling in line with its economic and national security agendas.

The military sector and arms industry make their profits from resource exploitation, conflict, and the building-up of weapons reserves: the exact things generating instability. Research which could fuel peaceful, sustainable innovation can easily be crowded out, particularly given that defence research has more links to security policy making than research on human security. The truth is, our security relies on the health of the planet and people, not on the health of our militaries, and military spending is not based on a sound analysis of national security.

We, at Demilitarise Education, say that this research and these partnerships jeopardise what a university should seek to do. Instead of selling their research capabilities to arms companies, universities should broaden the minds of their students, working to produce knowledge that improves the health, wellbeing, and security of the world.