On September 15, 2020, with the assistance of the Anti-Corruption Research and Education Centre and the Department of Political Science of NaUKMA, the second enrollment of students in Ukraine under the specialized Master’s program “Anti-Corruption Studies” was inaugurated. The opening of the training took place in the format of an online Zoom conference.
As a result of the competitive selection and admission campaign in 2020, the 15 best entrants were selected, who became students of the second enrolment of the Master’s program, consolidating its success and popularity.
Among enrolled students, there are talented public figures, civil servants, graduates of well-known foreign universities, as well as specialists in law, political science, and economics, who decided to gain comprehensive knowledge in the field of preventing and combating corruption.
The new students were greeted by stakeholders in the field of anti-corruption in Ukraine, who played an important role both in the formation of the ACREC think tank and in the development and implementation of the Master’s program “Anti-Corruption Studies”.
In particular, the third president of the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” Andriy Meleshevych made a welcoming speech. He stressed that “Anti-Corruption Studies” is a unique educational program that provides a solid foundation of knowledge in many specialties and areas.
Alexander Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation, stressed that serious work on overcoming corruption should be based on competent knowledge. After all, in his opinion, there is a huge public demand in Ukraine to combat corruption, but efforts to achieve this goal require much more knowledge. “Therefore, it is very good that thanks to our joint initiative, we have a program that will enrich us in the future with professionals who will have in-depth knowledge of all world experience, which will lead to the expected effect – overcoming corruption in our country,” he said. In turn, Oleksiy Orlovsky, Director of the Democratic Practice Program of the International Renaissance Foundation, added that Anti-Corruption Studies is a brilliant opportunity to obtain a large amount of important information that will help students in their professional activities and significantly strengthen their competencies.
Nadiya Trischuk, USAID’s Anti-Corruption Institutional Development Manager, Supporting Leaders in Anti-Corruption in Ukraine, noted that the Master’s Program in Anti-Corruption Studies is a “trend uniqueness in Eastern Europe” and the complexity and complementarity of the anti-corruption program the determinants that led the project representatives to provide donor support to ACEC for the implementation of the first issue of the anti-corruption master’s program.
Daryna Kalenyuk, executive director of the Center for Combating Corruption, also welcomed the position that systemic reforms in Ukraine are impossible without systemic knowledge.
In her speech, she stressed that Ukraine is the best place to create an applied experiment and teach students a system of knowledge about what corruption is, as well as provide knowledge to experts to build effective institutions of governance and achieve transparency. “Corruption is a weapon in the hands of authoritarian regimes. That is why we are happy that there is a place where specialists are trained, who can then work on creating and promoting high-quality anti-corruption reforms together with us, ”she stressed.
After the solemn greeting of the guests and donors of the Program, the word was given to the Executive Director of ACREC Oksana Nesterenko, who stressed that the model of anti-corruption education ACREC together with Kyiv-Mohyla Academy proved its importance not only in Ukraine but also as a basis for other countries in the post-Soviet space. “This is a real indicator that demonstrates the need for similar programs in our region. Therefore, we will continue to do everything possible to develop educational programs in the field of anti-corruption in Ukraine and their promotion in the countries of the post-Soviet camp, “she said.
After the speakers, the participants had the opportunity to listen to the feedback of the second-year students of the Program, as well as to present themselves and talk about their motivation to receive specialized education in the field of anti-corruption.
This year’s Master’s program in Anti-Corruption Studies is funded by the MATRA support program from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE) with the financial support of the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine and the United States through the United States Agency for International Development.