Research and Creative Activity has recently been made aware of emails directed to NDSU faculty members which are recruiting involvement in a foreign talent program.  Because this specific foreign talent program in based in China, it is considered by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to be a malign foreign talent recruitment program.  NDSU’s research successes have made its faculty targets for recruitment into such programs.

• If you have received this email or similar offers, please forward the email/offer to the Export Control Office (ndsuexportcontrols@ndsu.edu).
• Questions about foreign talent programs can be directed to the Export Control Administrator Sharon.May@ndsu.edu

The National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and other federal funding agencies are beginning to prohibit sponsored research personnel from participating in Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (MFTRPs), as required by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. But not all foreign talent recruitment programs are malign. Learn how to decide if an arrangement is a MFTRP.

NOTE: As early as 2024, investigators will not be able to receive or apply for federal funding if they are engaged with a malign foreign talent recruitment program.

• The US Federal Government has placed restrictions on researcher participating in Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs. The Chips and Science Act defines a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program as:
  • "any program, position, or activity that includes compensation in the form of cash, in-kind compensation, including research funding, promised future compensation, complimentary foreign travel, things of non de minimis value, honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, or other types of remuneration or consideration directly provided by a foreign country at any level (national, provincial, or local) or their designee, or an entity based in, funded by, or affiliated with a foreign country, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country, to the targeted individual, whether directly or indirectly stated in the arrangement, contract, or other documentation at issue." 
  • Or a program that is sponsored by:
    • a foreign country of concern or an entity based in a foreign country of concern, whether or not directly sponsored by the foreign country of concern;
    • an academic instituiton on the list developed under section 1286(c)(8) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note; Public Law 115-232);
    • a foreign talent recruitment program on the list developed under section 1286(c)(9) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note; Public Law 115-232).
• If you have been asked to do any of the following in connection with a foreign entity, discuss the invitation with your department chair/head, dean, or VP.
  • Engage in the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property, materials, data, or other nonpublic information;
  • Recruit trainees or researchers to enroll in program or activity or accept a position with a foreign entity;
  • Establish a lab;
  • Form a company;
  • Accept a faculty position or other employment;
  • Sign a contract or agreement which you are unable to terminate except in extraordinary circumstances;
  • Commit a specified amount of time to work for the foreign institution;
  • Engage in work which would overlap with your NDSU research;
  • Apply for or receive funding from a foreign government that would be awarded to the foreign institution;
  • Omit acknowledgement of a foreign institution, or any US federal research sponsor;
  • To not disclose to NDSU or the federal government, your affiliation with the foreign institution.