Abstract

This talk will explore how we can understand universities as key emerging players in science diplomacy—not just supporting or facilitating it, but actively shaping how it is defined and practiced. What does science diplomacy look like inside an academic institution? How do universities signal their priorities, and how do researchers respond to at times conflicting cues about ethics, security, and global engagement? What tensions arise when academics collaborate across borders while navigating institutional rules, geopolitical pressures, and uncertain institutional support? And what does all this mean for how science diplomacy is actually done on the ground?

Short Bio

Rachel Fishberg is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Danish Centre for Studies on Research and Research Policy (CFA), Aarhus University. Her research is situated at the intersection of science policy, higher education studies, and global knowledge production. She explores how research policies function across global, national, and institutional levels, and how these policies shape academic work, collaboration, and the production of knowledge. Her interests are in the politics of research funding, university governance, and the epistemic and geopolitical dynamics of transnational and interdisciplinary research collaborations.

What is an AIAS Seminar?

The AIAS Seminar Series is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellows, AIAS Visiting or Tandem Fellows or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, a fellow will present and discuss her/his current research and work-in-progress to an interdisciplinary audience for 30 minutes, closing off with 30 minutes for questions, comments and discussion.

All seminars are in-person and held in English. To attend online, please contact Cecilie Horshauge at cecilie@aias.au.dk by 9:00am on the day of the semimar as the latest to request a link.