However important universities have become for the generation of economic wealth, they cannot be regarded simply as 'factories' of science and technology, and of technical experts, within a global knowledge economy. They have key intellectual and cultural responsibilities that are more, not less, important in a knowledge-based society. 

Accordingly, universities cannot be regarded as value-free institutions. The values and ethical standards they espouse will not only have a crucial influence over the academic, cultural and political development of their academics, students and staff, but also help to shape the moral contours of society-at-large. As such, they should accept explicit responsibility and take action for promoting the highest possible ethical standards. 

It is not enough to espouse high ethical standards at a rhetorical level. It is crucial that such standards are respected, and put into effect, in every aspect of the work of institutions - not only through their teaching and research programmes, but also in terms of their internal governance and management and engagement with external stakeholders. 

The academic culture of any higher education institution should promote actively and diligently, through mission statements, institutional charters and codes of academic conduct, those values, norms, practices, beliefs and assumptions that guide the whole institutional community towards the assertion of an ethos that is based on the principles of respect for the dignity and for the physical and psychic integrity of human beings, life long learning, knowledge advancement and quality improvement, inclusive education, participatory democracy, active citizenship and non-discrimination. 

The autonomy of higher education institutions, although essential for effectively discharging their historic tasks and meeting the challenges of the modern world, should not be used as an excuse for them to evade their responsibilities to wider society, acting consistently for the promotion of the public good. 

It is difficult to sustain high academic and ethical standards in the absence of adequate public funding for higher education. Diminished public funding is likely to erode the idea of a higher education as a public good and may also make it more difficult for institutions to maintain board access and high standards of conduct. 

The values and standards of academic integrity provide the foundation for knowledge development, quality teaching and the training of students as responsible citizens and professionals. The academic community must be committed to the promotion of such academic integrity and strive actively for its embodiment in the everyday institutional life of its members. 

The key values of an academic community of integrity are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and accountability. These values are not only good in themselves, but they are also crucial for the delivery of effective teaching and high-quality research. 

The quest for honesty should start with oneself and be extended to all other members of the academic community, avoiding systematically any form of cheating, lying, fraud, theft or other dishonest behaviours which affect negatively the quality status of academic degrees. 

The trust that is mutually shared by all members of an academic community is the backbone of that climate of work that fosters the free exchange of ideas, creativity and individual development. 

Ensuring fairness in teaching, student assessment, research, staff promotion and any activity related to the awards of degrees should be based on legitimate, transparent, equitable, predictable, consistent and objective criteria. 

A free exchange of ideas and the freedom of expression are based on the mutual respect that is shared by all members of the academic community, regardless of their position in the hierarchy of learning and research. Without such exchange academic and scientific creativity is reduced. 

 Responsibilities should be shared by all members of the academic community, thus allowing for the upholding of accountability and for the free expression of attitudes and actions in the face of wrongdoing. 

A more efficient and effective operation of governing bodies of higher education institutions should be promoted to reflect both their increasing size and complexity and the wider range of roles and responsibilities. However, in relation to entrepreneurial and commercial activities, governing bodies should promote the best possible practice not only in the proper management of such ventures, but also in the safeguarding of the rule of law and of core academic and ethical values. Academics, students and staff members should have a critical role to play in making sure that the quest for commercial ventures and increased revenue does not impair the quality of learning and research outcomes or the intellectual standards of their institutions. 

Reforms in the governance and management of higher education institutions should strike an appropriate balance between the need to encourage effective leadership and management and the need to encourage participation by the members of the academic community, including students, teachers, researchers and administrators, in decision making. 

Presidents, rectors, vice-chancellors and other institutional leaders should be held accountable - not only for the effective management of their institutions and for their successful academic development, but also for providing ethical leadership. The idea of 'ethical audits' as part of institutional performance should also be explored. 

The institutional decision making processes should be implemented so as to assert the moral obligations and the responsibility of the decision makers to all the stakeholders affected by the decisions both inside and outside the institution.

Intellectual freedom and social responsibility are the key values of scientific research that should be constantly respected and promoted. Instead of being in conflict, these two values reinforce each other within the more open learning and knowledge generation systems characteristic of 21st-century society. 

Both individual researchers and groups are not only morally responsible for research processes - their choice of topics, methods of enquiry and the integrity of research - but also for research outputs. As such, they should adopt and rigorously respect codes of ethical standards that regulate their scientific research. 

Any code of conduct in research should include both ethical standards and enforcement procedures, thus avoiding practices of superficiality, vacuity, hypocrisy, corruption or impunity. 

Scientific communities should promote worldwide cooperation and assure the intellectual and moral solidarity that is based on the values of a culture for peace and on the imperative of aiming for the welfare of mankind through sustainable development. 

Academic staff and researchers, individually and/or collegially, have the responsibility and the right (i) to express themselves freely on the scientific and ethical challenges of certain research projects and application of their results, and (ii) in the last resort to withdraw from those projects if their conscience so dictates.