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VI. Involvement of Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

  1. Current University Policies

    1. Faculty members must not allow any outside professional activities or interests to prevent them from meeting their responsibilities to students as teachers, mentors, or supervisors of research. [University of California Guideline 6 on University-Industry Relations, May 1989.]

    2. Students' educational and research programs are to be entirely open. Students have the right to publish and freely communicate their research progress and findings. There is to be no delay in submitting dissertations, but a delay of up to 90 days may be requested for filing the dissertation in the University Library (i.e., making the dissertation publicly available) to allow for a patent application to be filed.

    3. If a graduate student is employed by a company in which a faculty member has a fiduciary interest (e.g. owns, consults), then that faculty member may not be the thesis/dissertation advisor of the graduate student. The faculty member may be on the thesis/dissertation committee. If the faculty member is on the thesis/dissertation committee then he/she must inform the University, through the appropriate offices, of the situation and any possible conflict of interest. Upon review, exceptions may be granted by the Dean of Graduate Studies. [Graduate Council, Oct. 11, 1996.]

  2. Committee Recommendations to Augment or Modify University Policies

    1. Modify the Graduate Council policy in VI.A.3 above to prohibit the employment of a graduate student in a company in which the student's thesis/dissertation advisor has a Significant Financial Interest. This would make it possible for a student to be employed in a company in which the student's adviser had a financial interest that was NOT significant.

    2. Extend the Graduate Council policy in VI.A.3 above to provide that graduate students may not undertake training or do their dissertation research in a company in which their thesis/dissertation adviser has a Significant Financial Interest.

    3. Extend the Graduate Council policy in VI.A.3 above to prohibit postdocs from being employed by a company in which their UCSD mentor has a Significant Financial Interest, in recognition of the educational nature of the postdoctoral experience which is preparing the postdoc for an academic or research career.

    4. Encourage undergraduate, graduate student, and postdoc participation in industry-sponsored research on campus as long as the following conditions are met:

      1. The participation furthers the student's educational program.
      2. The student's faculty adviser and the researcher directing the project do not have a Significant Financial Interest in the company sponsoring the campus research project.

    5. Encourage industrial representatives to participate on campus in student and postdoctoral educational programs; for example, industrial scientists and engineers could serve, where appropriate, as co-mentors with faculty mentors of graduate students and postdocs; critique student papers or poster boards in student-sponsored research conferences; offer a lecture in a course; or give a seminar. Where appropriate, industrial representatives could be appointed to the adjunct professor series in recognition of their educational activities at UCSD.

    6. Reaffirm that it is appropriate for students and postdocs to undertake educationally-related research activities at companies as long as the following conditions are met:

      1. The faculty adviser does not have a Significant Financial Interest in the company.
      2. The company places no confidentiality or non-disclosure restrictions on the student and permits the student to freely discuss and publish the results of his work without delays.
      3. Any company patent agreement the student is required to sign be reviewed and approved by the University.

    7. Continue to encourage students to participate in internships in industry for academic credit, which requires—in addition to work in the company—a research paper with relevant readings directed by a faculty adviser.

    8. Clarify that an employee of a company with an interest in University research activities may become a student at UCSD under the following conditions:

      1. The student's dissertation adviser does not have a Significant Financial Interest in the company.
      2. Any inventions made by the student in the course of working on University research projects are disclosed to and owned by the University.
      3. All the student's University research work is publishable with no company-imposed constraints.
      4. The student does not use any University facilities for the company's proprietary work.

    9. Clarify that students and postdocs have the freedom to decide to use their personal non-University time to work for a company which may require the student to sign a confidentiality agreement and place restrictions on the student's right to publish as long as the following conditions are met:

      1. The student is not working at a company in which their mentor or any member of their doctoral committee has a Significant Financial Interest.
      2. The work at the company is kept completely separate from the student's UCSD educational program.

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