NetEase LeiHuo Demands Unpublished Academic Papers for Campus Recruitment: Intellectual Property Theft or Standard Procedure?

Recently, a netizen reported that NetEase's LeiHuo studio is requesting 'unpublished' academic papers during its campus recruitment process. This has sparked heated debate within the gaming and academic communities, with the OP suggesting such a demand could put students at risk of expulsion for violating academic integrity.

The OP argues that for graduate students, academic papers are tied to complex issues of authorship and intellectual property. By requesting unpublished works, applicants worry their research could be exploited or stolen by company insiders under the guise of 'mentorship.' The requirement for English papers specifically raised suspicions about whether the company is fishing for high-value research assets.

Responding to criticism that they were overreacting, the OP discussed potential safeguards like posting pre-prints on Arxiv. The discussion evolved into a broader debate about whether this is a predatory recruitment tactic or a standard method to verify the technical competency of applicants in data analysis roles.

Community feedback is divided: some believe it's a corporate attempt to 'free-ride' (known as 'bai piao' or 'white-嫖') on academic research, while others insist that providing research papers to verify professional capability is standard practice for STEM candidates, dismissing the controversy as 'much ado about nothing'.