The Defence Universities Alliance between the Ministry of Defence and UK universities has been criticised by students nationwide.
A open letter calling for all founding universities to withdraw from the alliance and prevent universities from joining has been signed by elected student union (SU) officers.
The Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) is a group of 35 universities who have partnered with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to “boost defence industry skills” and “vital research into new defence technologies” in the UK. Members include Newcastle University, University of Manchester and King’s College London.
As of 14 August, 54 SU officers from 18 universities have signed the letter. Signees include officials from DUA members; University of Warwick, Bristol University and non DUA universities such as University of St Andrews.
Jack Newton, SU Officer for University of Manchester and signee of the open letter told The Courier that those who oppose the DUA see it as pulling universities away “from their core purpose of education and academic enquiry towards serving imperialist war”.
They question why the British government has chosen to “invest in war” instead of encouraging students to work in “socially useful industries such as renewable energy”.
They question why the British government has chosen to “invest in war” instead of encouraging students to work in “socially useful industries such as renewable energy” and hope the government will “end the militarisation” of British education system and “redirect this investment into actually improving people’s lives”.
According to a statement released by the MoD on 13th July 2026, the DUA is part of a £182 million investment plan to “build defence-related skills and expand opportunities across Britian”
The MoD has highlighted how this collaboration with universities will help support a “pipeline of skilled graduates” into careers including “cyber security, robotics, AI” and “aerospace engineering”.
According to Newton, the students who oppose the D.U.A have “not seen any evidence” that the funding from the alliance will “support students to attend university who wouldn’t be able to otherwise”.
In response to The Courier’s request for comment, Professor Chris Day, Vice Chancellor and President of Newcastle University said: "At Newcastle, we recognise that national security and resilience are shaped by many interconnected factors. Alongside advances in engineering and technology, they depend on resilient infrastructure, trusted digital systems, healthy communities, effective policy and a highly skilled workforce.
“Membership of the Defence Universities Alliance will create new opportunities for our students, researchers and partners through collaboration, skills development and innovation. It will strengthen our contribution to the economy, support highly skilled jobs and help develop the talent and technologies needed for the UK's future security, resilience and prosperity.”
In a press release on 13 July, Newcastle University confirmed they will be a founding member of the DUA, pledging to bring its “whole of society approach” to the DUA’s “collaborative strategic network”...
In a press release on 13 July, Newcastle University confirmed they will be a founding member of the DUA, pledging to bring its “whole of society approach” to the DUA’s “collaborative strategic network” and combine experts from sectors including engineering, health, computing and social sciences.
The university’s statement also highlighted the MoD’s “£80 million” investment in “2,500 student places across 24 universities and colleges”. £4 million of this funding will be given to Newcastle University “to support student places in key engineering disciples” with links to “defence and emerging technologies”.