When British academic Matthew Hedges was jailed in the United Arab Emirates last year on spying charges, he joined a long list of scholars from around the world who have been targeted and prosecuted for simply carrying out their research. During his detainment, Hedges was held in solitary confinement, force-fed drugs and battled depression, along with thoughts of self-harm and suicide.

As education editor at The Conversation, I have read of hundreds of similar cases, and while Hedge’s imprisonment prominently featured in the UK media, the wider ramifications for the research community have been largely overlooked.

When I approached Hedges to see if he was interested in writing about his arrest and imprisonment, it also got me thinking about the wider issue of fieldwork research. His story became the catalyst for an international series on academic freedom, free speech and inquiry. As part of this series, Hedges writes about why his time in the UAE shows how bureaucracy-led universities are not equipping their students and staff with the appropriate skills and competencies needed to undertake their job in today’s world.

Elsewhere on the site, we look at how animals are disappearing from forests – with grave consequences for the fight against climate breakdown – and whether the “Victorian illness” scurvy is really making a comeback in the UK.

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