Senior executives from BP and Shell have also been given 20 awards and honorary degrees in the past decade, says Knowledge and Power: Fossil Fuel Universities from the campaign groups People and Planet, Platform and 350.org.

¡°Universities offer their credibility for cash when they sign deals sponsoring staff positions, buildings, conferences and lectures with fossil fuel companies,¡± it says.

¡°These deals play a key role in shoring up the fossil fuel industry¡¯s public image.¡±

Of universities¡¯ ?62.2 billion in endowments, the report estimates that ?5.2 billion is invested in the fossil fuel industry, usually through pension funds and other financial investments rather than being held directly.

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It criticises a number of universities for having strong links with the industry, including the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Heriot-Watt University and Imperial College London.

The report also accuses universities of giving a platform for oil executives and hosting talks that are ¡°frequently a thinly veiled advertisement for their company and their industry.¡±

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Universities are also complicit in training oil company staff, designing courses for fossil fuel firms, ¡°perhaps most significantly, are delivering research which will unlock new fossil fuels¡±.

It offers a number of recommendations, including freezing investment in fossil fuel companies, dropping courses ¡°designed to funnel students into oil, gas and coal¡± and ending research into fossil fuels.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com