Is it permissible for me to use my university account – paid for by the university – to download research papers from a journal and give them to a friend studying at another university who does not have access to them?

The fundamental principle is that it is impermissible to benefit from someone else's property without their explicit permission or an indicative clue, based on the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "(The property of a Muslim is not lawful except with his consent)," and his saying: "(It is not permissible for a person to take his brother's property without a rightful claim)." Copyrights and intellectual property rights are reserved for their owners. Therefore, if the journal stipulates a subscription for downloading, it is not permissible to violate that. And if the university's subscription is restricted to its students, then the university is not permitted to make it available to others, unless the university has the authority to make it available to visitors and researchers. In that case, permission must be sought from the responsible party to provide benefit to your friend.