COURSES AND PROJECTS
1. EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIC THINKING
Strategic thinking
A complex introduction to contemporary strategic and system concepts. The nature of a person and the nature of systems. Closed and Open systems. An introduction to systems thinking, the difference between behavioural logic in part and in systems. The logic of change: the rules and paradigms. The life circle of a paradigm. Change in the nature of leadership.
System thinking
The purpose of this course is to examine systems complexity as an element of the strategic environment. Participants will be introduced to such questions as what complex, adaptive systems are; how strategic leaders make sense of such systems, and how an understanding of complex, adaptive system help leaders develop and implement successful strategies.
Institutional and Individual Strategic Leadership
The course aims to facilitate an understanding of the theory and practice of strategic leadership and expose the challenges faced by leaders at the strategic level. Participants will examine such matters as the psychology of leadership (current leadership theory, gender, etc), the role of leaders at the strategic level, and the characteristics of successful strategic leadership.
FORMATION OF STRATEGIC IDEA AND STRATEGIES
Formation of a strategic idea: vision and mission as the DNA of the system
The methodology of the value (product) and client dimension as a composite basis for modeling the infrastructure of national security systems
Customers and products in systems
System boundaries
Balance of systems
Formation of a strategic idea as a basis for strategy development
DESIGN OF NATIONAL SECURITY SYSTEMS
Key systems and subsystems of national security and requirements for them in accordance with national strategic documents and changes and trends in the regional and global security environment
Benchmarking of international experience, determination of best practices and their adaptation to the Ukrainian context
Formation of a complete complex system, its components, boundaries, roles in the system and tasks for their implementation; definition of the value proposition and formation of the client line
Identification of key players and stakeholders of the system
Interrelationships between systems and subsystems of national security, other state and non-state systems, ensuring the integration of governance and state policies
ECOSYSTEM DESIGN
Strengthening the capabilities of the institutions of the national security system with resources, competencies, technologies, and the influence of other players
Determination of influential players, roles of ecosystem participants, their interests
Inter-institutional relations: inter-departmental cooperation and coordination at national, governmental, organizational levels
Cooperation with the non-state sector and society
Coordination of strategies and goals with other institutions, influential stakeholders
Achieving a balance of interests between players
Models of cooperation with business, public organizations, international institutions and partners
The Value Net model
Multiplication of results and impacts in the implementation of national security strategies through the creation and use of ecosystem capabilities
2. GRAND STRATEGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY
GRAND STRATEGY OF UKRAINE
The course presents grand strategy as the art of achieving ambitious, powerful goals in conditions of limited national, regional and global resources.
Building Ukraine's own potential and that of our strategic partners
Comprehensive strategic understanding of critical dimensions — security, economic, technological, cognitive, political
Combining assets in these dimensions into a system that will strengthen national security and national prosperity
NATIONAL POWER. GEOPOLITICAL CAPABILITIES
The course is devoted to national power as a basic tool for managing geopolitical positions and state influence.
Tools of national power — from hard and explicit to soft tools of persuasion
Features of building up national power, converting it into geopolitical capabilities, combining various national tools and means for implementing powerful strategies at the regional and global levels
EURO-ATLANTIC
INTEGRATION OF UKRAINE
The main framework of the transition period and the subsequent recovery of Ukraine
Formation of Ukraine as a regional leader and an active global player
Reforming the public administration system, industry policies, civil service
Approximation of standards of defense management, procurement, achievement of operational interoperability
The dynamics of Ukraine's influence on the EU and NATO in the course of rapprochement and entry into these structures
3. TRANSITION PERIOD OF UKRAINE
FORMATION OF FRAMES
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD
The course examines the policies of the transition period (during war and the first stages after the establishment of peace), which ensure the stability of the state and society in order to achieve victory and avoid internal conflicts, as well as lay the foundation for a systematic, effective and rapid post-war recovery of the country.
The main components of the transition period: ensuring the stability of state institutions for the performance of critical functions of the state and further strengthening of institutional capacity
The role of social cohesion and nation building for "victory in peace"
The importance of integrating international efforts to restore Ukraine
Settlement of the demographic crisis by demonstrating the economic and social prospects of returning from abroad and planning life in Ukraine
SYSTEM OF DISARMATION, DEMOBILIZATION AND REINTEGRATION
Formation and effective implementation of complex policies regarding disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants after the end of the war
Support of combatants and their families in economic, social, medical dimensions, broader work with communities
Establishing a balance between limited resources
Maintaining defense capabilities to deter Russia from new aggression
SOCIETY COHESION AND NATION BUILDING: IMPACT ON NATIONAL SECURITY
Maintaining a basic level of cohesion to enable the passage of the transition period without internal conflicts and maintaining trust in the authorities
Creation of conditions for nation building to preserve and use the positive trends that Ukrainian society showed during the war
Development of national culture, memory policy, education and youth policy as mechanisms of nation building
Systematic involvement of such players as the diaspora and religious institutions as multipliers of influence and resources
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION: AVOIDING INTERNAL CONFLICTS
The course considers avoiding the escalation of internal conflicts as one of the main goals of transitional policies, in particular through mechanisms of transitional justice and reconciliation, as well as the general strengthening of the rule of law.
SYSTEMATIC RESTORATION OF LIBERATED TERRITORIES AND REINTEGRATION OF THE POPULATION
The course focuses on the challenges that will arise after liberation from the Russian occupiers of Ukrainian territories. In particular, we are talking about the needs of reintegration of the population that was under the influence of Russian propaganda in the territories occupied since 2014, as well as the economic, social and environmental crisis in the liberated territories.
4. INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
International Security Environment
The course is designed to assist participants in analyzing security issues at the international level including the development of national and military strategies that advance and defend the national interests of Ukraine. Participants will become familiar with major trends and changes in the international security environment.
International Political System. Relations & Diplomacy
Participants will analyze the ways in which policymakers look at the evolving international security environment as well as their efforts to develop an overall grand strategy. The course explains the fundamentals of international relations Participants will discuss such phenomena as international anarchy, the role of states vs. ideas, international organizations, balance of power, democratic peace, globalization, and analyze various stets of international relations.
Organized Pressure: Think Tanks, Lobbies, & Interest Groups
Participants will examine the role that think tanks, interest groups, lobbyists and other non-governmental actors and their impact on national-level policy decision making and decision makers in the defence and national security sector. The session also analyzes how these institutions and individuals function, their interests; participants shall understand the networks these actors employ while trying to influence policy decisions and decision-making processes.
National Interests, Power and Grand Strategy
Grand Strategy can be understood as the synchronized application of all elements of national power to advance and defend national interests during peace and war. Participants will examine various strategy frameworks that help establish national priorities, choose strategic approach, and allocate resources that are necessary to achieve national goals in the long-term. Those goals are mostly based on national interests, that may be hard to define or agree on.
Global Trends
The "big picture" course. Participants will learn the trends of the technological, demographic, environmental, economic, and social trends. Participants will learn to analyze rapidly changing global trends, their effects on financial systems, nations, and geopolitical relationships among countries all over the world.
Emerging Causes of Conflict & Transnational Security Issues
This course will cover debates over the causes of war and human conflict and will attempt to highlight some of the more prominent factors put forth as traditional and emerging drivers of conflict. Participants will learn about the changing nature of conflict.
Transnational security issues will remain significant challenges in the decades ahead. These issues usually involve or are conducted by non-state actors, although states may provide a facilitating environment, whether through deliberate action or simply inaction. Certain challenges transcend binary state versus non-state categories. These issues are often characterized as the pernicious side of globalization and they may challenge conventional notions of sovereignty, strategy, geography and war.
Democratic Civil-Military Relationship
Civil-military relations presuppose differences between the leaders, institutions, values, prerogatives, attitudes and practices of a society at large and those of that society's military establishment. The course offers to evaluate the role of a senior leader in these relationships, and the connection between civil-military relations and military professionalism. Participants will discuss three criteria of democratic civil-military relationship: 1) harmony between civilians and the military; 2) the resulting effectiveness of the military establishment; and 3) constitutional balance. Ukrainian perspective on the democratic civil-military relationship.
CYBER SECURITY
During the course, participants study current and future threats in cyberspace, different approaches to promoting and defending national interests in cyberspace, and compare Ukraine's approach with the approaches of the United States, Europe, Russia, and China.
COGNITIVE SAFETY
The course is aimed at understanding cognitive security, which ensures the protection of society and information systems in an integrated information environment, promotes social cohesion and nation building.
SPACE CAPABILITIES AND NATIONAL POWER
The course analyzes national and international space policy, the military and economic aspects of space power, as well as an understanding of strategies for providing space capabilities to protect national interests.
INNOVATIVE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
The course is aimed at achieving a joint integrated and focused approach to the defense industry for the development of technological potential, export and development of international partnerships.
TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY
The course is dedicated to the development of the technological sphere, which is important for Ukraine in view of the need for technological transformation of the economy and industry, development of creative industries, and for achieving technological superiority in the field of national security as a factor of deterrence and strengthening of defense capabilities.
DEMOCRATIC CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS
The course is aimed at developing skills in the field of civil-military cooperation in matters of planning civil-military cooperation activities, assessing the civilian environment, coordinating humanitarian aid, the interaction of civil and military authorities during crises and disasters, as well as establishing effective civil-military cooperation with non-military actors The course is also aimed at developing an understanding of democratic civilian control as an important component of the transition period between the end of the war and the systemic recovery of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Grand Strategy
This course examines the theory and practice of grand strategy in historical and contemporary contexts. It defines grand strategy as 'the calculated relation of means to large ends'. It focuses on how parts relate to the whole in whatever an individual, a corporation or a nation might be seeking to accomplish.
The course focuses on contemporary grand strategy with respect to such issues as national security; economics and finance; technology; the environment; energy resources; culture and ideology; ethics and international law; as well as the competition between democracy and authoritarianism in shaping the international system.
National Security Strategy
The aim of the course goal is to further develop the participants' understanding of factors, both internal and external to Ukraine, that influence the implementation of national security policy and to examine the geostrategic environment that influences national security strategy as it pertains national interests and the promotion of national values.
At the end of the course participants will have gained a comprehensive understanding of how Ukraine develops and implements national security policy, an understanding of how Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States develops and implements national security police; and a knowledge of how other friendly counties develop and implement national security policy.
Military Strategy and The Use Of Force
At this course participants will analyze the major elements of contemporary Ukraine defence strategic documents and assess the National Defence Strategy. The National Defence Strategy is required to describe the ways and means through which Ukrainian military will achieve the objectives of the National Security Strategy or any other national security or defence strategic guidance. Participants will understand the elements of grand strategy and their insight into military operations.
Media and National Security
The session explores the power of public opinion, the role of media sources in the military decision process. Participants will decide whether the media is a passive participant in the process of forming public opinion or is an independent actor. The free press right, relationship between the military and the media, and the balance of the public's right to be informed – these are the issues that will be covered in this session.
Cyber Space and National Security
In a very short time, individuals and companies have harnessed cyberspace to create new industries, a vibrant social space, and a new economic sphere that are intertwined with our everyday lives. At the same time, individuals, subnational groups, and governments are using cyberspace to advance interests through malicious activity. Terrorists recruit, train, and target through the Internet, hackers steal data, and intelligence services conduct espionage. Still, the vast majority of cyberspace is a civilian space used by individuals, businesses, and governments for legitimate purposes. Cyberspace and National Security examines current and future threats to cyberspace, various approaches to advance and defend national interests, and contrasts the Ukraine approach with USA, European, Russian, and Chinese approaches in cyberspace.
Intelligence & Counter-Intelligence
This course examines the many important roles that intelligence plays in the national security of Ukraine. The course explores the Ukraine Intelligence Community role in today's national security challenges, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and targeted assassinations, cyberespionage, and cyber-warfare. During this course, students will develop a comprehensive knowledge of counterintelligence (CI), and how intelligence agencies, organizations, and military units in the Ukraine use both offensive and defensive CI to guard and protect Ukrainian national security interests from foreign intelligence entities. Students will study and analyze CI, learn and discuss multi-discipline CI support to intelligence operations and the CI collection process, and analyze how cultural, social, and technological changes affect CI.
6. MODERN GEOPOLITICS: POWER STRUCTURE, KEY PROCESSES AND COUNTRY STRATEGIES
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The course is devoted to the role of the United States in shaping the global security environment, as well as the changing role of the country in the security policy of other players.
The strategic importance of Sino-American competition for both the world and individual players
US approaches to countering China and strategies to engage partners and neutral countries to strengthen US positions on the international stage.
Current system of projecting US influence at the global level
The reduction and strengthening of the role of the United States in the regions of the world
The US strategy for ensuring stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region
The connection between security and economic instruments of influence on the example of this region
EUROPEAN UNION
The course examines the potential and possible consequences of strengthening European strategic autonomy.
Current policies and programs of the EU in the field of security and defense (CSDP, PESCO, etc.)
The current state of affairs with the so-called burden-sharing in the field of security financing (burden-sharing) between Europe and the USA
The perception of the EU countries, "third countries" regarding the possible consequences of strategic autonomy for the international order, as well as the players' proposals regarding ways to achieve such autonomy
Possibilities of developing cooperation in the field of security and defense within the EU, as well as between the Union and external players, the potential of creating a European army, strengthening the EU defense industry
Other concepts that can support strategic autonomy in compatible dimensions, such as "EU economic sovereignty" and "digital sovereignty"
GREAT BRITAIN
The course involves researching the strategy of "Global Britain", its influence on the international environment and on Ukraine.
The role of continental Europe in the security of the British Isles
The role of maritime power projection for the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom
Importance of Subsea Critical Infrastructure, Supply Chains, Cyber Security
A comprehensive understanding of the systemic nature of the British approach to combining capabilities and creating systemic effects to achieve one's own goals
Analysis of the consequences of Brexit for the formation of an updated British network of alliances and the current state of cooperation with the EU
Formats of cooperation through which the United Kingdom extends its global influence (AUKUS, JEF, etc.)
JAPAN AND COUNTRIES OF THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION
The course will form a comprehensive understanding of the role of the Indo-Pacific region in world politics, its importance for the security and prosperity of countries, as well as the position of key players.
The approaches of the countries of the region to security and economic interaction with the two main forces in the international environment (the USA and China)
The behavior of countries in terms of balancing and strengthening their own positions
Japan's renewed proactive approaches to ensuring its own leadership and security in the region
Changes in Japanese-American relations, the strengthening of Japan's position vis-a-vis the US, as well as the role of economic security in the country's strategy, its efforts to ensure an "open and free Indo-Pacific region"
The role of alliances in the security of the region (Quad, AUKUS), geo-economic blocs and initiatives (including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) etc)
CHINA AND COUNTRIES OF THE AUTHORITARIAN AXIS
The course examines China's role as a challenger to the rules-based world order.
Strategies and tools of the People's Republic of China in the military, economic, and technological dimensions of security
The role of investment, infrastructure, trade, data exchange and other factors in China's efforts to achieve a Sinocentric world order
China's restructuring of the world through the involvement of developing countries (Africa, Latin America, Oceania) and subversive players (Russian Federation, Iran, North Korea)
Strategies for involving the PRC and ways to counter them
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICAN COUNTRIES. GLOBAL SOUTH
The course was created to form participants' understanding of the role of the Middle East and Africa for global security and world order, their direct and indirect influence on the politics of the United States, European countries, China, and the Russian Federation.
Relations between the regions of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific region with the states of the Middle East and Africa
The role of these states for the world economy and diplomacy
Strengthening of the "diplomatic front" to counter Chinese and Russian influence in the Middle East and Africa, potential partnership formats to involve relevant countries
The new "value propositions" of the world order, based on the rules
7. INSTITUTIONAL EFFICIENCY
Military Logistics
The course examines how the military logistics is used to plan and sustain a logistically ready joint force by leveraging Ministry of Defence and other military formations, NGOs, interagency, international, and industrial resources. The Military Logistics Course focuses on planning, executing, and controlling operational-level military logistics by preparing military and civilians to function in various logistics assignments. The core logistics functions that facilitate integrated decision making, enable effective synchronization and allocation of resources, and optimize military logistic processes will be covered in this course. Participants will also be able to develop the necessary perspectives and insights necessary to manage logistics at the operational level of war.
Defence Budget
The course examines challenges of Ukrainian budget allocation system. Ukrainian Defence Budget is developed through formal process and political art. It is the product of a complex, iterative, and analytical process of decision making. Participants will analyze the relationship among the projected future security environment, national strategy, national strategic goals, policy decision making and defence budget. The course facilitates the understanding the options, choices, and trade offs regarding defence budget of Ukraine. We will examine key international benchmarks and participants will develop innovative and efficient approach to budget allocation process for Ukrainian Budget System.
Capability Based Planning
This course teaches the basics of capability-based planning and shows how to address inherent ambiguity in security settings within economic framework. Participants will practice a holistic approach to operations and planning that require for the whole-of-governance collaboration and public-private partnerships; risk assessment, scenarios and mission analysis. CBP is intended to be both top-down and concept driven, and a bottom-up, lessons learned process. Participants will learn how to address operational challenges, link CBP process to outcomes, metrics, and result in decision-making; and practice core principals of CBP throughout the course and the program.
Defence Management
The aim of the Defence Management course is to develop a common understanding of how to turn defence policies into practice, to develop appropriate and sustainable planning mechanisms that support systems and infrastructure. Participants must learn how to apply the managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling to those segments and activities of the defence organization that may contribute to maximizing the operational performance of armed forces. The course shall address such issues as defence resource management, personnel management, procurement management, solving strategic and operational problems in a comprehensive approach.
Human Capital Management
Understanding the difference between human resource management and human capital management; concept of talent management. Understanding and knowing how to implement the best practices of human capital management.
PROCESS SIMULATION
This course covers key data management strategies and models, focusing on data warehousing, electronic archiving, data mining, neural networks, and other methodologies. Participants will get familiar with methods for collecting, storing, managing and processing big data; and will assess the big data ecosystem, its common tools, frameworks and platforms. The course provides sufficient understanding for participants to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of data management options.
Project Management
Key concepts of project planning and project performance management. Project portfolio management. Agile concept in project management. Basic skills in project planning, coordination and performance.
8. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Creative Thinking
Philosophy & Debates
Contemporary Arts
Theatre
Music
literature
PROJECTS
At the final stage of the program, participants, applying the knowledge and skills acquired during training, work in groups to develop national security systems.
The topics of the projects are determined by the head of the program together with the leadership of the National Security Service of Ukraine, the Office of the President of Ukraine, with the consultative support of the heads of all institutions of the security and defense sector of Ukraine, international partners.
Projects are evaluated by the program commission, which includes senior officials from Ukraine and partner countries.