The round table seeks to address with staff and students important questions of academic freedom under the anti-terrorism legislation, and broader meaning of academic freedom today.

Bill Rammell, higher education minister has affirmed that 'Academics and students alike must be free to go where their intellects lead.' But there appears to be confusion over the meaning of academic freedom today, and how academic freedom sits with the anti-terrorism legislation. What is the current state of the law on academic freedom? Does the law or official advice need to be clarified? Should ethics committees play a greater role? Or are there other ways of thinking about academic freedom?

The round table will be divided into two parts. Part I will have three short presentations on lessons from the Nottingham arrest cases from a student representative, a local trade union representative and a university management representative, followed by 30 minutes discussion. Part II will address academic freedome more generally with presentations from Professor Tim Birtwistle, Professor of Law and Higher Education at the Leeds Law School and Dr Dennis Hayes from Academics for Academic Freedom, followed by another 30 minutes discussion.