Institutional collaboration agreements with Israeli entities
Mapping
Mapping the involvement of Danish universities
With reference to the Danish Public Information Act (Offentlighedsloven) we have requested a list of all forms of institutional collaboration agreements with Israeli universities and companies from six Danish universities. University of Southern Denmark, Aalborg University and Roskilde University have disclosed this information without hesitations. The rest have argued that processing our request would require “disproportional use of resources,” referencing the Public Information Act § 9, stk. 2, nr. 1.
For this reason, we are doing a lot of the mapping ourselves. Have we missed something? You can report a collaboration agreement here!
Technical University of Denmark
In their response to our request of public disclosure, DTU identifies a “larger number of cases,” but argue that it would be too time consuming to go through and verify each of them. Luckily, Palestine Solidarity Network DTU, have through their own thorough research identified a number of problematic research collaborations. They have submitted their conclusions to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The following is just an excerpt of their findings.
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Terma
Through a strategic partnership agreement with the Danish arms manufacturer Terma, DTU students have been offered internships at Lockheed Martin, in relation to the F35 program at least until 2022. Terma also participates in career fairs and other events on campus. Terma produces central components of the F-35 fighter jets that have been documented to be used in Israels war crimes.
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Technion
DTU collaborated with Technion on at least 19 research projects, of which 16 were European projects and 3 were bilateral. Technion collaborates closely with some of Israel’s largest weapons manufacturers and has developed technologies employed in the current genocide.
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IntSite
Intsite is an Israeli startup which uses AI to automate construction equipment and cooperates with construction companies implicated in the expansion of illegal settlements, and construction of checkpoints. DTU has partnered with IntSite and Technion in a research project to automate construction.
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Ness A.T. and T.S.G. IT Advanced Systems
Ness and T.S.G. are Israeli cyber-security companies which are heavily involved in supporting the Israeli military-settlement complex. DTU collaborated with both companies on developing crisis management technologies that have dual-use potential and could be used for military and oppressive purposes, such as surveillance and repression of dissent.
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Milestone Systems
Milestone Systems is a Danish software company whose products have been sold to Israeli entities involved in developing military AI systems used in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DTU has collaborated with Milestone on developing advanced surveillance systems.
University of Copenhagen
In response to our request of public disclosure, University of Copenhagen has identified at least eight agreements involving Israeli universities or companies. In order to disclose any information about those cases, they say that they need to get permission from all parties to the agreements, which would require a “disproportional use of time”. For this reason, we have very limited information on UCPH’s research collaborations.
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Hebrew University of Jerusalem
University of Copenhagen currently has a student exchange agreement with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which aside from having close ties with the Israeli military is partially built on occupied land.
Aarhus University
Aarhus University rejected our Public Information Act request, arguing that processing the request would require “disproportional use of time,” because agreements are managed in a decentralized manner. Based on our own research, here is what we know so far.
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University of Haifa
Aarhus university has both a student exchange agreement and an Erasmus+ staff mobility agreement with University of Haifa, which among other things hosts three military colleges.
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Terma
Aarhus university collaborates with Terma – the Danish arms manufacturer who produces central components of the F-35 fighter jets that have been documented to be used in Israels war crimes. Since 2023, students at Aarhus university have called for a termination of the collaboration.
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Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Aarhus University currently has a student exchange agreement with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which aside from having close ties with the Israeli military is partially built on occupied land.
Aalborg University
Aalborg University had no problems providing a full list of research projects that involve Israeli institutions. AAU currently has no cooperation agreements related to teaching. You can download the full database here (israeli institutions highligted in red and the AAU department in yellow).
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Technion
AAU’s Department for Health Science and Technology is a part of a Horizon Europe-funded research scheme with Technion. Institut for Planlægning has a research collaboration with the Samuel Nieman Institute for National Policy Research, which is also a part of the Technion. Technion collaborates closely with some of Israel’s largest weapons manufacturers and has developed technologies employed in the current genocide.
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Samuel Nieman Institute for National Policy Researh
Department of Planning has a research collaboration with the Samuel Nieman Institute for National Policy Research, which is also a part of the Technion. Technion collaborates closely with some of Israel’s largest weapons manufacturers and has developed technologies employed in the current genocide
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Eilat Municipality
Institute of Energy has a collaboration with the municipality of Eilat, through the EU-funded research project, SOLARIS.
University of Southern Denmark
University of Southern Denmark had no problems providing documentation for all research project that involve Israeli institutions or companies. You can download the full response here.
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Ben Gurion University
SDU research center NanoSYD collaborates with Ben Gurion on co-publishing academic articles. SDU also collaborates with Ben Gurion University through a Consortium Agreement within the Horizon Europe framework. The agreement is related to research on organic photovoltic solar panels and runs until August 2027.
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Tel Aviv University
SDU’s Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics has a research collaboration with the Sylvan Adams Sport Institute on the “Scientific optimization of cycling performance”. The institute is a part of Tel Aviv University, which collaborates closely with both the Israeli military and arms manufacturers.
Roskilde University
According to the administration, Roskilde University does not currently have any active collaboration agreements. The university is, however, launching a joint research project involving Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2025.
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Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Roskilde University’s Department of Humans and Technology (IMT) and Department of Social Sciences and Business (ISE) collaborate with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, through a Horizon2020-funded research project:, Trans4Demo Contentious Politics and Democratic Renewal in Sustainability Transitions. The project is set to start in 2025.
Report an institutional collaboration agreement here
Research collaboration often takes place on departmental or faculty level, so there is currently no central catalogue of research collaborations. We are continuously working on mapping institutional agreements with complicit Israeli universities. If you know of any exchange agreements, research projects or other forms of collaborations at your own department, you can report it here. You can also contact your head of department or your dean and inquire about research collaborations – find email templates here. Remember, the academic boycott targets institutions, not individuals.