Defence Academy hosts Ukrainian academics for anti-corruption workshop

17 September 2024
international
Students sat around a table in a classroom being presented to.

Students sat around a table in a classroom being presented to.

Delegates from the Building Integrity Training and Education Centre (BITEC) of the National Defence University (NDU) of Ukraine have attended a three-day, anti-corruption seminar hosted at the Defence Academy.

Ukrainian representatives joined UK counterparts for the residential workshop, coordinated by  Building Integrity UK (BI-UK), part of the Defence Academy’s International Group. The sessions were also attended by a senior representative from Ukraine’s National Agency for Corruption Prevention, Head of UK Government Internal Audit, representatives of UK MOD Fraud Defence and the Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector (Norway).

At specific request of the Ukrainian delegates, areas of discussion included:

  • building integrity in operations
  • risk management processes in UK fraud defence
  • audit processes in practice
  • management of corruption risks in procurement
  • gender specific risks of corruption
  • one star assessment centre processes

As the key training partner for the NATO Building Integrity Programme, BI-UK provides training and education on behalf of defence to international partners and allies to enhance anti-corruption and transparency initiatives globally. Aimed at senior and middle ranking officers and politicians, the programme works to enhance the understanding of corruption risks and how to reduce them within the defence and security sector. Working with international partners, BI UK then trains, assists and mentors their staff to develop their own Building Integrity training teams.

The BI-UK programme and NDU of Ukraine have a long history working closely since 2014 developing and mentoring the BITEC team and anti-corruption initiatives in Ukraine.

Reflecting on the event, Lieutenant Colonel Neil Robertson, Capability Planning Advisor to the UK Special Defence Advisory Team said:

“The workshop was key to aligning Ukraine’s policy and process to NATO practice, which will assist with their accession aspirations. This bilateral activity allows for the benchmarking of Ukrainian systems against those of the UK.
“As a result of the visit, stronger relationships have been built between the UK and Ukraine in the field of integrity.”

Director of Building Integrity UK, Julie Comer-Crook, said:

“Hosting the Ukrainian delegation at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom presented a unique opportunity in strengthening the long-standing relationship between BI-UK / Defence Academy and the Ukraine. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Ukraine and our Ukrainian business partners and scaling up our engagement activities to support them in their academic aspirations.
The golden thread in all our engagement initiatives is to build integrity, create awareness of the threat global corruption poses, and offer insights and best practice into how to combat corruption through learning.”