NABU's Anti-Corruption School opens up new horizons for Ukrainian youth
For the fourth year in a row, the National Bureau, with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, is implementing the NABU Anti-Corruption School. The training, which brought together law students from all over Ukraine, started on July 31 and consisted of an online part and an internship at the Main Detective Unit.
"The project is aimed at involving students in those processes that take place in the field of combating corruption. We are simplifying the requirements for work experience and the competitive selection procedure so that young specialists can also join the NABU team," said the Director of the National Bureau Semen Kryvonos.
This year, a record number of people joined Anti-Corruption School: 592 questionnaires were received during the week of registration, from which 62 participants of the online stage and 19 finalists were selected for internships. During the online part, students acquired basic OSINT skills, learned about international experience in tackling corruption, discussed European integration with specialists, and immersed themselves in the specifics of the activities of Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies and initiatives. The speakers of the project were detectives of the National Bureau, a prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, a judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court, experts of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative and representatives of the Integrity Office of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
Iryna Shyba, Deputy Head of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, said that together with the implementation of the anti-corruption reform in Ukraine, EUACI constantly supports educational projects for young people. She explained that such projects provide practical knowledge useful to young lawyers for their future careers and expressed hope that many graduates of the school will soon join the ranks of anti-corruption agencies and public organizations.
"Many opportunities are open to you today. A number of anti-corruption institutions and public organizations operate in Ukraine — all of them are interested in young and motivated specialists. Do not be afraid to apply for internships and participate in competitions. It is important to sincerely describe your motivation and how you can be useful," Iryna Shyba advised the students.
Thanks to the online format, experts from the European Commission joined the NABU 2023 Anti-Corruption School: Clemens Mueller and Georg Ziegler; Andrzej Strozny, Head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Republic of Poland; Elanas Jablonskas, Deputy Director of the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania and Benas Aldakauskas, Head of the Anti-Corruption Education Department. The secret guest was Yevhen Klopotenko, a Ukrainian chef, restaurateur and public activist, from whom the students received a huge portion of motivation to create an anti-corruption future of Ukraine.
As part of the second stage, students attended a ten-day internship at the Main Detective Unit of the National Bureau, which was combined with thematic trainings and lectures. Full working days formed a clear idea of the activities of detectives and the functioning of the National Bureau.
"An internship at NABU is a unique opportunity to learn how the anti-corruption agency works from the inside, to participate in procedural work, to gain practical skills and to talk with detectives about the specifics of their activities. Thanks to the Anti-Corruption School, I met like-minded people with whom we are creating our own anti-corruption project," said event participant Mark Seleznov.
Every day, students participated in trainings that introduced them to other areas of activity of the National Bureau. The head of the detective department Serhii Rokun and detective Uliana Chuchkevych told the participants about the preparation and procedure for conducting a procedural interview, and the head of the Open Office Andrii Mishchuk organized seminars for students on the topic of the history of corruption. The staff of the medical service of the National Bureau conducted a professional practical training on tactical medicine, and senior detective Zoriana Chervinko demonstrated the use of the polygraph and answered all questions regarding the specifics of the polygraph examination. As part of his specialization, senior detective-analyst Dmytro Moisiuk shared his experience of working with electronic evidence and introduced the participants of the Anti-Corruption School to the NABU digital laboratory. In their free time, the participants visited the Mezhyhirya National Park and an anti-corruption tour of Kyiv, and also worked on creating their own educational initiatives.
The project was implemented with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) — the leading anti-corruption support program in Ukraine funded by the EU, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
