Two Dutch scientists accepted an offer to falsely change their main institute to Riyadh-based King Saud University (KSU), naming the university first in three publications a year, a report published on Saturday reads.
According to Volkskrant, who published the report, the Dutch scientists had received e-mails from KSU officials, offering them €70,000 a year and €50,000 in additional funds for their projects.
By naming KSU as their primary employer, the university would rise in the prestigious Shanghai Ranking – a ranking of the best universities in the world – while the scientists’ original university would sink in the ranking.
“I know it’s a grey area, on the edge, and I understand that there are colleagues who would rather not do it”, Vincenzo Fogliano, professor of food technology at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), stated.
He was one of the two professors who agreed to the deal.
“But much worse things happen in academia. Besides, you can pay for research and PhD students with this money. So I think it has value.”
Despite Fogliano stating that his home university greenlighted the collaboration with KSU, a spokesperson for WUR told public broadcaster NOS that the university had started an internal investigation.
“If it turns out to be true that scientists from our university made this deal, we distance ourselves from it,” the spokesperson said.
The other scientist to accept the Saudi offer was emeritus professor of fungal biodiversity Teun Boekhout. He stated that the “significant money” from the Saudi institution allowed him to continue his research project even after retiring as a professor.
Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf (D66/Renew) criticised the professors’ collaboration with Saudi Arabia.
“I find it highly objectionable when scientists in the Netherlands cooperate in constructions where they falsely list a foreign university as their first employer,” he tweeted.
“They are selling Dutch universities (their real employer) short, undermining trust in science. Scientists should not be allowed to sell their academic integrity for money,” he added.
The report comes just weeks after El Pais reported that Saudi Arabia had also approached Spanish scientists with a similar offer, with 11 scientists accepting last year.
(Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com)
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