Tips and Tricks for Navigating International PGR Collaborations
On July 16th 2026, we welcomed Barrister, Caroline Roberts-Waterworth, who held an online session helping people to navigate the complexities of international postgraduate research collaborations. The event was held under the Chatham House Rule, and it was hosted by the PEP Network (chaired by Susanna Broom and Kerri Gardiner) although it was also open to Deans and Directors of Graduate Schools and people in similar roles.
At the beginning, Caroline was clear that she was not giving legal advice but rather talking about her experiences and what she had observed as good practice while in a previous role at the University of Sussex.
She began by outlining the current state of the student market: how the need amongst universities for alternative income streams often drove overseas projects, but how there were various risks with this, including letting academic strategy takes precedence over legal issues and how the student is often not represented in the negotiations. Navigating internal governance structures and regulations are additional complications which she also explained in more detail.
Global Layer: Geopolitical Environment
Caroline then discussed some of the geopolitical context. “I think it’s not for everybody to dwell on for any length of time, but I think it is worth us all remembering that the current geopolitical environment is fraught,” she said. She mentioned potential flashpoints between the UK, China, Russia and Iran, and how there were other considerations such research security (no longer a niche concern) and how export controls should be properly considered. She also explained that it was important to build contingencies into projects because geopolitical pressures may make collaborations unsustainable in the long term.
National Layer: UK Policy, Funding, Immigration, and Data
Here, Caroline focussed on UK policy, funding, immigration and data. She discussed UKRI’s funder conditions as an example (grants include restrictions on international data sharing, IP assignment and student nationality). She covered additional obligations created by the National Security and Investment Act 2021 and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, along with considerations such as student visas and the responsibility of abiding by UK GDPR rules when transferring data internationally. “I’m going to come on to talk briefly about things like VPN access to materials overseas,” she explained.
The Institutional Layer
Caroline then turned to legal drafting, IP and the student experience. She spoke about choosing the right model for international agreements – whether that might be a double degree programme, a joint supervision agreement or something else. She asked attendees to consider an important question (‘What happens if the collaboration breaks down mid-PhD?’) and she spoke about agreement drafting and how it was prudent to consider issues such as which country’s law governs the document and who has the authority to sign it. She also covered student experience and welfare, showing what some of the potential risks were when making agreements and some of the legal traps to watch out for during the drafting stage.
Risk and stakeholders
In the last section of her presentation, Caroline turned to identifying risks and building the internal coalition. She presented attendees with a practical risk framework which includes a due diligence checklist and suggestions for managing identified risks (available in the slides). She also talked about the importance of involving internal stakeholders; “I think understanding the institutional politics – for want of a better word – and how you can leverage those relationships for the good is absolutely critical,” she said. She gave examples of who, internally, might need to be involved and how to escalate matters externally, if needed.
Finally, Caroline summed up with five tips and tricks (see the slides), followed by opportunities for further questions and discussion.