Universities UK (UUK) and the British government are promoting partnerships between UK and Egyptian higher education institutions (HEIs). A series of memoranda of understanding signed over the past few years have laid the groundwork for UK HEIs to establish international branch campuses and other programmes.

Yet the government officials and university managers seem to have forgotten that only two years ago, Giulio Regeni, a Cambridge PhD student, was abducted, tortured and murdered while undertaking research in Cairo. Giulio was one of many students and academics who have been arrested, tortured, jailed and killed in recent years in Egypt, in the context of a much wider campaign of repression targeting the political opposition, trade unions, civil society, independent media, and the legal profession.

We question the wisdom and legitimacy of this move to do business as usual with an authoritarian regime that systematically attacks research, education and academic freedom. We do not believe that the universities represented on UUK’s recent delegation to Egypt can guarantee the safety or freedom of expression of their academic staff or students. We suspect this is just a cynical branding exercise: selling degrees with the imprimatur of a UK university, while remaining silent about the disappearance of academic critics and attacks on Egyptian students’ right to learn without fear.

We welcome collaboration with our Egyptian academic colleagues, but we refuse to collude in masking human rights abuses in order to make short-term profits in the global education “market”.



Jo McNeill, President, University of Liverpool UCU

Dr Waseem Yaqoob, Branch secretary, University of Cambridge UCU

Dr Leon Rocha, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of Liverpool UCU

Dr Anne Alexander, University of Cambridge UCU

Professor James Dickins, University of Leeds

Professor Ray Bush, University of Leeds

Dr Christian Høgsbjerg, University of Leeds

Professor David Whyte, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of

Liverpool UCU

Dr Nicola Pratt, University of Warwick

Professor John Chalcraft, London School of Economics

Dr Susanne Hakenbeck, University of Cambridge UCU

Emeritus Professor William Brown, University of Cambridge

Dr Jonathan Pattenden, University of East Anglia

Dr Ben Jones, President Elect, University of East Anglia UCU

Dr Emily Luise Hart, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of

Liverpool UCU

Dr Kevin Bean, Chair, University of Liverpool UCU

Martin Ralph, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of Liverpool UCU

Alex Lancaster, Vice President, University of Liverpool UCU

Anthony O’Hanlon, Secretary, University of Liverpool UCU

Dr Karen Evans, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of Liverpool UCU

Dr Rosalba Biasini, Ordinary Member of the Committee, University of

Liverpool UCU

Sarah Seaton, Co-Chair, University of Leicester UCU

Dr Marion Hersh, University of Glasgow UCU

Dr Eurig Scandrett, Queen Margaret University and Scottish Vice President, UCU

Professor Felicity Callard, Birkbeck, University of London

Professor Nicky Priaulx, Cardiff University

Professor Jonathan Davies, De Montfort University

Professor Michael Lavalette, Liverpool Hope University

Professor William Outhwaite, Newcastle University

Professor Tani Barlow, Rice University

Professor Nadje Al-Ali, SOAS, University of London

Professor Mark Hobart, SOAS, University of London

Professor Laleh Khalili, SOAS, University of London

Professor Bob Brecher, University of Brighton

Professor Raphael Salkie, University of Brighton

Professor Clément Mouhot, University of Cambridge

Professor Mark Zeitoun, University of East Anglia

Professor Christina Riggs, University of East Anglia

Professor Timothy Gorringe, University of Exeter

Professor Janet Watson, University of Leeds

Professor Malcolm Povey, University of Leeds

Professor Steven French, University of Leeds

Professor Raymond Dalgleish, University of Leicester

Professor Michael Clague, University of Liverpool

Professor Fernand Gobet, University of Liverpool

Professor Diana Jeater, University of Liverpool

Professor Andrew Philippides, University of Sussex

Professor Shirin Rai, University of Warwick

Professor Matthew Watson, University of Warwick

Professor Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee, University of Warwick

Professor James Newell

Professor Tracey Hill, Bath Spa University

Professor Rebecca Karl, New York University

Professor Rhiannon Corcoran, University of Liverpool

Professor Mario Novelli, University of Sussex

Professor L.L. Roberts, University of Twente

Professor Gabrielle Lynch, University of Warwick

Emeritus Professor Robert Moore , University of Liverpool

Dr Kerry Harman, Birkbeck, University of London

Dr Claire Marris, City, University of London

Dr Marco Checchi, De Montfort University

Dr Simon Grimble, Durham University

Dr David Petts, Durham University

Dr Gavin Laing, Ex-Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Dr Holly Smith, Institute of Education, UCL

Dr Stan Papoulias, King’s College London

Dr Julie Hearn, Lancaster University

Dr Gary Anderson, Liverpool Hope University

Dr Federica Guglielmo, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Dr Lee Jones, Queen Mary University of London

Dr Liam Campling, Queen Mary University of London

Dr Bob Jeffery, Sheffield Hallam University

Dr Satoshi Miyamura, SOAS, University of London

Dr Itzea Goikolea Amiano, SOAS, University of London

Dr Nick Hardy, University of Birmingham

Dr Jamie Melrose, University of Bristol

Dr Laura McMahon, University of Cambridge

Dr Duncan Bell, University of Cambridge

Dr Anna Judson, University of Cambridge

Dr Charlotte Lemanski, University of Cambridge

Dr Sam James, University of Cambridge

Dr William Astle, University of Cambridge

Dr John Carr, University of Cambridge

Dr Ailsa Keating, University of Cambridge

Dr Nathan Wright, University of Cambridge

Dr Jason Scott-Warren, University of Cambridge

Dr Jacobus Saers, University of Cambridge

Dr Liliana Janik, University of Cambridge

Dr Hector Orengo, University of Cambridge

Dr Jess Beck, University of Cambridge

Dr Carlo Morelli, University of Dundee

Dr Lucio Esposito, University of East Anglia

Dr Ludek Stavinoha, University of East Anglia

Dr Jill Daniels, University of East London

Dr Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, University of Essex

Dr Dario Castiglione, University of Exeter

Dr João Florêncio, University of Exeter

Dr Martin Nickson, University of Hull

Dr Reinhard Huss, University of Leeds

Dr Chris Paterson, University of Leeds

Dr Hendrik Kraetzschmar, University of Leeds

Dr Jo Ingold, University of Leeds

Dr Zoe Groves, University of Leicester

Dr Emilio Tuosto, University of Leicester

Dr Peta Bulmer, University of Liverpool

Dr Irina Biktasheva, University of Liverpool

Dr Martin Whiteford, University of Liverpool

Dr Marco Perale, University of Liverpool

Dr Hannes Baumann, University of Liverpool

Dr Mark O’Brien, University of Liverpool

Dr Anastasia Tataryn, University of Liverpool

Dr Dai Grove-White, University of Liverpool

Dr Godfried Croenen, University of Liverpool

Dr Stéfanie Khoury, University of Liverpool

Dr Sarah Mosedale, University of Liverpool

Dr Paul Jones, University of Liverpool

Dr Stefanie Doebler, University of Liverpool

Dr Malcolm Booth, University of Liverpool

Dr Rory Miller, University of Liverpool

Dr Carl Sheridan, University of Liverpool

Dr Alexandra Homolar, University of Warwick

Dr Kevin Hickson, University of Liverpool

Dr Stephanie Petrie, University of Liverpool

Dr Pollie Bromilow, University of Liverpool

Dr Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti, University of Liverpool

Dr Eleni Michalopoulou, University of Liverpool

Dr Daniela Tepe-Belfrage, University of Liverpool

Dr Elizabeth Savage, University of London

Dr James Chiriyankandath, University of London

Dr Megan Jobson, University of Manchester

Dr Anna Duncan, University of Oxford

Dr Jo Grady, University of Sheffield

Dr Andrew Chitty, University of Sussex

Dr Fabio Petito, University of Sussex

Dr Tanya Palmer, University of Sussex

Dr Benno Teschke, University of Sussex

Dr June Edmunds, University of Sussex

Dr Roger Phillips, University of Sussex

Dr Nick Bernards, University of Warwick

Dr Leon Sealey-Huggins, University of Warwick

Dr Marijn Nieuwenhuis, University of Warwick

Dr Vicki Squire, University of Warwick

Dr Laura Povoledo, UWE Bristol

Dr Kathryn Dutton, York St John University

Dr Christina McMinn

Dr Peter Langford, Edge Hill University

Dr Jason Hickel, Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr Alessandra Mezzadri, SOAS, University of London

Dr Caitlin Scott, University of East Anglia

Dr Lesley Catchpowle, University of Greenwich

Dr Kevin Gray, Osgoode

Dr Tyler Denmead, University of Cambridge

Samuel Hayes, University of Liverpool

Yaiza Hernández Velázquez, University of the Arts London

Yvonne Mellon, University of Liverpool

Siobhan Doran, University of Liverpool

Sarah Morton

David Thomas, Birkbeck, University of London

James Andrews, University of Sussex

David Callaghan, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Randy Banks

Seán Doyle, UCL

Alex Batesmith, University of Liverpool

Will McGowan, University of Liverpool

Yiannis Gioukas

Conor Sugden, University of Liverpool

Pauline Gibbons

Camilla Royle, King’s College London

Tracy Ramsey, Liverpool Hope University

Christina Paine, London Metropolitan University

Frances Causer, Seijo University, Tokyo

Adélie Chevée, SOAS, University of London

Helen Charman, University of Cambridge

Maria Harvey, University of Cambridge

Rhian Keyse, University of Exeter

Ben Plumpton, University of Leeds

Giusi Coppola, University of Liverpool

Tricia Mackin, University of Liverpool

Kayleigh Wall, University of Liverpool

Dr Julia Welland, University of Warwick

Elane Heffernan

Ruth Knox

Christina Paine, London Metropolitan University

Séagh Kehoe, University of Nottingham

Marian Mayer, Bournemouth University

Dr Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University

Carol Cody, City of Liverpool College

Sunil Banga, Lancaster University

David Waterhouse, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Mike Barton, Redbridge College

Professor Luke Martell, University of Sussex

Adam Ganz, Royal Holloway, University of London

Nita Sanghera, SCCB Bournville

Penny Morris, Senate House London

Dr Hadi Enayat, SOAS, University of London

Hana Sandhu, SOAS, University of London

Sean Wallis, UCL

Terry Brotherstone, University of Aberdeen

Dr Michael Carley, University of Bath

Ioana Cerasella Chis, University of Birmingham

Tom Hickey, University of Brighton

Dr Sandra Cortijo, University of Cambridge

Dr Natasha Tanna, University of Cambridge

Heather Stallard, University of Cambridge

Ayse Polat, University of Cambridge

Dr Manali Desai, University of Cambridge

Dr Francesco Iacono, University of Cambridge

Dr Bela Dimova, University of Cambridge

Claire Ratican, University of Cambridge

Dr Anup Grewal, University of Toronto

Mary Jennings, University of Cambridge

Professor Jo Drugan, University of East Anglia

Dr Hugo Gorringe, University of Edinburgh

Dr Mike Finn, University of Exeter

Mike Lammiman, University of Hull

Dr Xiaofan Li, University of Kent

Dr Matthew Spencer, University of Liverpool

Dr Richard Smith, University of Liverpool

Dr Liz Turner, University of Liverpool

Dr Diane Frost, University of Liverpool

Anna Fox, University of Liverpool

Ken Willis, University of Liverpool

Peter Goddard, University of Liverpool

Dr Darren Cook, University of Liverpool

Dr Kay Inckle, University of Liverpool

Jordi Sanchez, University of Liverpool

Marina Rabadán Gómez, University of Liverpool

David Swanson, University of Manchester

Dr Pierre Fuller, University of Manchester

Jess Meacham, University of Sheffield

Tor Krever, University of Warwick

Duncan Adam, University of Warwick

Craig Gent, University of Warwick

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