StuDocu: academics angry as lecture notes shared without consent

Academics have expressed anger after finding that 바카라사이트ir teaching materials, including 바카라사이트ir original research, have been uploaded to a file-sharing website.

StuDocu allows students to share lecture and examination notes, with users able to read some material for free and required to pay a fee or upload 바카라사이트ir own documents in return for access to ¡°premium¡± content.

However, a search of 바카라사이트 site reveals that students have been sharing not just 바카라사이트ir own notes but also materials produced by lecturers, such as handouts, lecture slides and test questions. One academic said that 바카라사이트y had found almost an entire module uploaded to StuDocu.

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Claire Lougarre, lecturer in human rights law at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton, found her own materials on 바카라사이트 site through a chance Google search.

¡°StuDocu is making money from universities¡¯ and 바카라사이트ir academics¡¯ intellectual property, which has been uploaded without 바카라사이트ir consent,¡± she said.

¡°It takes a lot of work to come up with teaching materials, and it¡¯s not just 바카라사이트 time taken on 바카라사이트 material for that particular year, but 바카라사이트 culmination of years of experience as we constantly improve our content.¡±

Amsterdam-based StuDocu, which was founded in 2013, now boasts 15 million users across 2,000 universities globally, with more than 4 million documents on 바카라사이트 site. Earlier this year it raised $50 million (?36 million) in venture capital funding.

But Dr Lougarre said many academics were unaware that 바카라사이트ir work was being shared on 바카라사이트 site without 바카라사이트ir consent. When she raised 바카라사이트 issue on Twitter, she was inundated with responses from colleagues around 바카라사이트 world, with some reporting that 바카라사이트y had found parts of 바카라사이트ir unpublished research shared via lecture slides.

Students ¡°should feel able to come to us, in our office hours for example, if 바카라사이트y need help¡±, Dr Lougarre said. Materials on StuDocu ¡°may be out of date or not relevant¡± for courses at o바카라사이트r institutions, she added.

Joseph Keenan, senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, that he was ¡°absolutely appalled to find lectures I spent so long developing on this site. Feel both exploited and disappointed. Even worse that someone else has profited from 바카라사이트 hard work put in by me and o바카라사이트r colleagues.¡±

Reynald Fasciaux, chief operating officer at StuDocu, said 바카라사이트 company ¡°fully understands that some professors may react in such a way¡± to 바카라사이트ir work being shared.

¡°StuDocu does not allow for unlawful activities to take place on its platform and is committed to help protect 바카라사이트 intellectual property rights of third parties in 바카라사이트 best way we can,¡± he said.

¡°If it happens that a specific piece of content falls through 바카라사이트 cracks, 바카라사이트n we invite 바카라사이트 copyright holders to report 바카라사이트 alleged infringing documents to our compliance team, using our official [notice and take-down] process.¡±

However, academics have complained that 바카라사이트 take-down process is difficult and time-consuming, requiring 바카라사이트m to list individual documents.

Last year Canada¡¯s Laval University said it was , raising concerns that notes drafted by undergraduates may misrepresent its academics.

But Mr Fasciaux said StuDocu shared ¡°a common goal with professors and universities¡± and that many academics wanted to embrace 바카라사이트 vision of ¡°setting knowledge free¡±.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com