Britain plans vet Non European PhD Students Academic Technology Approval Scheme ATAS British Universities Biochemistry Electrical Engineering

Britain plans to vet Non European Ph.D Students

Britain plans to vet Non European Ph.D Students

London: Students from all non-European Union countries, including India, wanting to study in British universities at the PhD level in specialized areas like biochemistry and nuclear physics will be subject to security vetting under a new scheme to be introduced later this year.

The scheme, Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS), is part of Britain's wider security efforts to ensure that knowledge in universities here is not misused in the backdrop of concerns over proliferation and terrorism.

The 'proliferation-risk' subject areas that will be closely monitored for foreign PhD students include biochemistry, electrical engineering, nuclear physics, microbiology, chemical engineering, aeronautical dynamics and material sciences. Several Indian students have been coming to Britain to study in these areas.

Foreign Office official Neil Kernohan said the scheme would essentially target a small number of PhD students to pursue research in selected subject areas. Before applying for a student visa, they would first need to obtain a 'certificate of approval' after going through the new, IT-based security system.

"Discussions on the new scheme have been going for nearly two years, when it was realized that the existing academic system was not rigid enough. It is not linked to the recent acts of terrorism in Britain," Neil said.

The earlier vetting system was voluntary and relied on academic institutions providing information about postgraduate students from a list of '10 countries of concern'. The new system makes it mandatory for all non-EU PhD students to be vetted.

"The new system will be open... and thus less discriminatory. Our objective is to ensure that students coming into the UK to study do not take back information that helps the spread of weapons of mass destruction at home," Kernohan added.

ATAS will be managed by the Foreign Office and will involve an online application form that potential students in the select subject areas will need to complete. They will be checked on the basis of their country of origin, the university at which they studied in their home countries and whether they had a history of proliferation. If there are any concerns or doubts about the potential students, they will be refused the 'certificate of approval', which will lead to refusal of a visa.

Britain plans to vet Non European Ph.D Students

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