The 14 Dutch universities have started publishing details of all the other work their professors do on a centralised public register for the first time.  

“Transparency is an essential precondition for academic integrity,” Dutch universities association UNL said. “It ensures that it is clear to others what information academics have used. And that includes listing their other work on the university website.”

The move follows several scandals involving conflicts of interest and follows an investigation by Nieuwsuur which found many of the existing registers were not complete. 

For example, one Groningen university professor was found to be advising the Maltese government on selling passports while another professor at the same university did not ask permission to take up a side job in the fossil fuel industry. 

Nieuwsuur also uncovered other conflicts of interest between university staff and their outside interests. In some cases, professorships were funded by industry without that being made public. Some teaching hospital cardiologists were also paid stipends by the medical industry without declaring the cash.