By Georg Florian Grabenweger, Policy Advisor at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA).

“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for,” the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said. And still the picture of this hero of knowledge, wisdom, and sincerity reminds our students of their quest for excellence when they walk up the staircase to IACA’s grand auditorium.

The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) – an international organization with 60 Parties from all over the world and post-secondary educational, training, and research institute – was conceived by anti-corruption professionals and scholars of various backgrounds in 2005. It had been clear to them that a concerted effort, integrating the knowledge of all relevant disciplines, theory, and practice, and the experience of all societal sectors on a global level, would be positioned to make a real difference in the fight against corruption. This vision became reality in 2011 and has gained tremendous political support since then.

Only a few years later, we can now see the first harvest of IACA’s finest fruits with the graduation of the first class of the Master in Anti-Corruption Studies (MACS); a two-year, part-time programme designed for anti-corruption executives and practitioners who wish to remain fully employed while pursuing their degree.

It has frequently been bemoaned that anti-corruption post-secondary education and research are rare; that there are only a few places where practitioners could concentrate on anti-corruption issues alone; and that there were virtually no opportunities for practitioners to jointly contemplate challenging questions concerning corruption.

As one of the MACS students put it: “People who are committing those crimes are improving their style of commission. And if they are improving their style of commission, we as investigators also need to sharpen our own skills. The best part of this (is), that it will help me to network”.

We have seen from the first intake of the MACS programme that IACA is well positioned to attract the right audience. Bringing together 31 students from 17 countries and four continents, there were not only highly skilled professionals from the public sphere, but also specialists from the private sector, civil society, and academia, who had an average 8 years of experience in fighting corruption. It thus comes as no surprise that the MACS professors, who have seen many anti-corruption audiences all over the globe, where also excited to work with this extraordinary group of professionals.

With a focus on academic disciplines in the first year, the MACS began with an on-site module on “Concept and Theories of Corruption”, designed to identify the challenges in defining corruption, raise awareness on its diverse actors and different manifestations, and understand the development of this phenomenon over time. Contextualizing corruption in the social environment was given equal attention as the philosophical dimensions or psychological aspects which lead to corrupt behaviour.

In Module II, “Corruption and Economics”, micro and macroeconomic theories were introduced to shed light on the mechanisms devised by corrupt individuals and entities, and to elaborate on model strategies for counteracting these mechanisms.

The module “Politics and Corruption” put the topic again in the wider political context, making use of political science methods and carving out key features of corruptive relationships in the political governance of communities, regions, states, and the international sphere.

In Module IV, “Business and Corruption” examined how corruption manifests itself in the private sector, how corporate governance responds, and what adverse effects arise from failing to respond effectively.

The law module then focused not only on legal approaches to anti-corruption and the rule of law in general, but also specifically on how different international legal instruments and national legislation transcending its usual jurisdiction tackle the menace at its root on a global scale. The intrinsic link between human rights and corruption was also highlighted.

The last two modules paid special attention to linking theory with practice, focusing on enforcement and prevention. The enforcement module was devised to expose students to the practitioner as well as the policy and academic aspects of investigating corruption, from asset recovery to the role of whistleblowers, and to examine the relationship with civil society, the role of the media, and investigative journalism. Underlining IACA’s global approach, this module was held in Kuala Lumpur, in cooperation with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy.

Prevention concluded the comprehensive tour de force of the MACS and acquainted the class with the latest methods of prevention in the private and public sectors, collective action techniques and international approaches, as well as trends that may shape the future of anti-corruption preventive efforts.

The programme was led by an Academic Consortium of Yale Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman, Northeastern University Professor Nikos Passas, and Basel University Professor Mark Pieth, as well as a team of visiting professors and practitioners from around the world specializing in the module topics. All the modules started off with intensive preparation through home study of the background materials. The on-site phases provided for intellectual exchange between the renowned faculty and expert student body. As one student put it, “I have benefitted tremendously from the knowledge and experiences of the lecturers and from the different perspectives they bring from their respective backgrounds and parts of the world. The interactions and class discussions with fellow MACS colleagues has also been tremendously useful. I don’t know where else I would have been able to benefit from the rich interdisciplinary exchanges we have had in the course of the MACS programme.” In the post-module phases, course assignments linked modular input with the real life anti-corruption situation of the working students.

After two years of intensive work leading up to the Master Thesis defences over the last few days, on 9 December, International Anti-Corruption Day, IACA celebrated the achievements of the 2012-2014 class in front of family, friends, and a wider network of distinguished guests. For members of the MACS academic community, it is a time to rejoice the efforts of the students they have supported during their journey. The graduates were given a rousing send-off as they prepare to reinforce the fight against corruption in their countries, companies and societies while the second MACS class at IACA has already started to create the next generation of agents of change.

Just as Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and guest of honour for the graduation ceremony put it: “Having followed the anti-corruption development from its very early stages in the nineties, now for me today, experiencing this only place in the world focusing exclusively on anti-corruption research and training, awarding its first Master degrees in anti-corruption studies, is a huge progress.”