Two students win second annual KSE-Munk Policy Brief Competition

Kateryna Kostyshyn and Yuliia Strokan have won the second annual KSE-Munk Policy Brief Competition, which was held on April 19. They are both part of a group of 10 master’s students from Ukraine who are studying at the Munk School in a joint initiative between the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and the Munk School that started in 2022.

Part of the MITACS Globalink research project to fund Ukrainian students at the Munk School, the Policy Brief Competition is one component of a broader effort by KSE and the Munk School to train the next generation of policymakers for Ukraine during the war and help to build strong, accountable institutions that support democracy and economic growth when the war ends.   The first competition took place in April 2023.

This year, five Ukrainian students took part in the competition. All of them arrived at the Munk School in the fall of 2023.  They worked with Munk Senior Fellow Catherine Bragg[1] and Professors Drew Fagan and Lucan Way to develop ministers’ briefs on a broad range of topics: the development of social enterprises to integrate parts of the population most affected by the war; measures to reduce illegal small arms trade after the war; ways to improve Ukrainian relations with the global south; steps to reduce sexual violence in the Ukrainian military; and ways to increase the transparency of procedures to deprive Ukrainians of citizenship. The students also received individual guidance from University of Toronto Professors specializing in their chosen topics -- Kenzie Burchell, Matthew Light. Peter Solomon, and Linda White.

“The students this year were incredibly impressive,” said Way. “They each developed policy briefs that were highly nuanced, specific, and thoughtful.”

The winning briefs explored ways to improve relations with South Africa and measures to reduce sexual assaults in the military.  Kostyshyn gave a carefully argued and impassioned brief and presentation about how best to assist female victims of abuse. Attacks on servicewomen, whose participation in the Ukrainian military has increased dramatically in the last decade, often go unreported. She argues in her brief that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense should establish a specialized reporting system with the possibility for further investigation to gather statistics and offer support to victims.

Strokan presented a well-researched and highly detailed brief on how to improve Ukrainian relations with South Africa, a key power in the global south. Drawing on the Ukrainian government’s Peace Formula, Strokan argued that the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine should work with South Africa to develop a strategy for returning Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia.

The competition jury – consisting of Professors Fagan, Peter Loewen, and Way --unanimously agreed that both briefs reflected thoughtful analysis and a careful consideration of the Ukrainian and international context.