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All foreign and domestic Significant Financial Interests (e.g., payments, equity, reimbursed travel). All external positions and appointments (e.g., board service, visiting or honorary appointments). Any participation in a foreign talent recruitment program, malign or otherwise.

If there is a foreign component or relationship that is not declared as a Conflict of Interest, and is paying for anything in the form of cash, in-kind compensation, or funding, this is something which must be reported or declared to the University.

According to , the term "foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program" means “an effort directly or indirectly organized, managed, or funded by a foreign government or institution to recruit science and technology professionals or students (regardless of citizenship or national origin, and whether having a full-time or part-time position).”

A Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) is a foreign talent recruitment program which is sponsored by a malign foreign government, or adversary nation. 

This chart breaks down what an MFTRP is, according to the CHIPS and Science Act: What is a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program?

Before publishing with someone else, you should ask yourself these questions:

Q. How well do I know this person and what are their affiliations? 

A. If you don't know them well enough to know what their affiliations are, you should probably not publish with them, as negative affiliations of co-authors could reflect on you.

Q. Is this person a foreign citizen?  If so, what country are they from?

A. While international collaboration is encouraged, if this person is from one of the "foreign adversaries" as listed by the federal government (China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, or associated with Venezuelan politician Nicolas Maduro), it would be advantageous to get to know the person a bit more.  Whether they are citizen of one of these nations or not, it is beneficial to know whether they did any publishing from there, and where they are currently publishing from.

Q. Is this person in a Talent Program?

A. Again, if you are unsure, it could mean you should get to know this person a bit more before publishing with them. If the person is in a talent program, there is always the chance the person could be trying to recruit you to a talent program, as well. 

• All foreign and domestic Significant Financial Interests (e.g., payments, equity, reimbursed travel).
• All external positions and appointments (e.g., board service, visiting or honorary appointments, reimbursed
travel). 
• Any participation in a foreign talent recruitment program, malign or otherwise.

Disclosure and approval is required before engaging in any Outside Activity. Disclosure is also required
whenever a new or altered Financial Interest develops.

Always ensure you stay compliant with and all other rules for foreign travel, by contacting the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Travel Office at the preceding link before planning any official foreign travel, or personal travel to one of the listed foreign adversaries.

Some other things to remember, particularly if traveling with ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ equipment or export-controlled technologies, materials or data:

• Keep control of your equipment, and any export-controlled technologies/materials or data, and if it is lost or misplaced (even temporarily), make sure you report that to ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Research Protections upon your return.  Likewise, if any airport, government, or law enforcement officials take it away from you for any period of time, you must also report it upon your return.   
• Watch out for any foreign contacts extending invitations, gifts, or favors; and report it upon your return.
• Report any sort of travel issues upon your return, such as being detained or arrested, or being a victim of a criminal act. 

Disclosure to funding agencies is required through the submission of your biosketch and your current and
pending/other support document.
• All current and pending support, including grants, contracts, agreements, in-kind support, and external support for
students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Any research performed outside of ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ (e.g., via consulting or other appointments)
• Any participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including talent
recruitment programs must be listed in your Current & Pending Support.

For the most part, international conferences are beneficial and a great way to network with other researchers around the world.  This benefits the researcher and helps them spread the findings of their research.  However, one must be careful about which conferences they choose to attend, and more specifically, who is sponsoring them. When the conference is sponsored by a third party, it may take a bit more caution and awareness, but it is more easily navigable if one is aware of the law.  For instance, a ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ researcher may be aware of EO GA-48 and would realize that attending or presenting at a conference in China for professional reasons is not permissible, but if the conference is physically being held in another country, like Germany, but is SPONSORED by China, this would also be a violation of EO GA-48.

While it is important for all faculty and staff to remain vigilant against undue foreign influence, there is a particular focus by rogue nations on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM.  These are fields in which much can be gained from acquiring information and research others have already done. Of particular interest, are critical and emerging technologies.

According to the , these are defined as, "those technologies that have been identified and assessed by the National Security Council (NSC) to be critical, or to potentially become critical, to the United States’ national security advantage, including military, intelligence, and economic advantages."   

The following qualities of certain technologies may designate them as Critical and/or Emerging:

1. Radical novelty
2. Fast growth
3. Coherence
4. Prominent impact
5. Uncertainty and ambiguity

The  provides the following as categories of Critical and Emerging Technology areas: 

Advanced Computing ~ Advanced Engineering Materials ~ Advanced Gas Turbine Engine Technologies ~ Advanced Manufacturing ~ Advanced and Networked Sensing and Signature Management ~ Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies ~ Artificial Intelligence ~ Autonomous Systems and Robotics ~ Biotechnologies ~ Communication and Networking Technologies ~ Directed Energy ~ Financial Technologies ~ Human-Machine Interfaces ~ Hypersonics ~ Networked Sensors and Sensing ~ Quantum Information Technologies ~ Renewable Energy Generation and Storage ~ Semiconductors and Microelectronics ~ Space Technologies and Systems 

 A November 2025 Department of War update to the list of identifies six key Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) which are most crucial to military dominance:   

Applied Artificial Intelligence ~ Biomanufacturing ~ Contested Logistics Technologies ~ Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance ~ Scaled Hypersonics ~ Scaled Directed Energy

If you have questions about foreign talent programs, foreign partnerships, disclosures, or anything related to Undue Foreign Influence, please contact the Foreign Influence Investigator and Analyst at foreigninf@utep.edu and 915-747-8481, or anyone on the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Research Security team.