As a result of the measure, thousands of students and scientists will undergo screening. This does not just apply to international students but to Dutch nationals as well. These technology programs include programs focused on military techniques, such as weapons development, as well as microchips and software systems used by the police and other security organizations.

Within the next few months, Minister Bruins will present a list of specific programs classified under “sensitive” technology. It should also become clear at that point who will conduct the screening and when it will go into effect. 

Initially, the plan was that only third-country nationals – those from outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland – would be subject to mandatory screening. However, that is not legally tenable, according to a letter to Parliament from Education Minister Bruins. “In short, it is not permissible to make a distinction based on nationality in order to delineate the target group for screening.”

Espionage risk

Concerns about securing knowledge at universities have been present in Dutch politics for quite some time. “We’ve been somewhat naive,” said Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf in 2022 about collaborations with high-risk countries. This concern was prompted by an investigation conducted by the journalistic platform Follow The Money. The investigation showed that European universities had collaborated with Chinese military universities in over three thousand jointly published papers, 21 of which were in collaboration with TU/e.

A recent investigation by Cursor revealed that at least 162 TU/e students and staff have ties to institutions in China with a high or very high espionage risk.