University Anti-Corruption Seminar

Who can benefit from the seminar

The seminar is intended to be offered to students who are taking an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or professional qualification in a subject relevant to the infrastructure sector (e.g. engineering, architecture, project management, procurement, quantity surveying).

The seminar may also be of interest and use to students in other business sectors and in professional fields such as law, accounting, and business management.  The analysis and examples given in this seminar focus on the infrastructure sector but are also applicable to, and can be adapted for, other sectors.

The need for the seminar

Every year people die or suffer injury or hardship due to corruption on infrastructure projects.  Buildings constructed in corrupt breach of building regulations collapse in earthquakes or catch fire, directly resulting in death and injury.  Public sector infrastructure funds are stolen or projects are corruptly overpriced, leaving less money available to build vital infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools and roads.  Projects are built defectively resulting in inadequate infrastructure.  Ethical organisations and individuals lose work to, and face extortion from, corrupt organisations and individuals.

Infrastructure projects are prone to corruption because of their size, contractual structure, and complexity.  Persons working in the infrastructure sector are, therefore, at some time likely to be faced with dilemmas relating to corruption. 

Failure to deal with these dilemmas properly so as to avoid involvement in corruption not only contributes to the above cost and damage, but also may result in criminal liability and imprisonment for individuals, and criminal liability, fines and debarment for organisations.

It is therefore of vital importance that students who are planning to work in the infrastructure sector learn about the different types of corruption, the damage it causes, liability for corruption, what can be done to prevent and investigate it, and what they should do to avoid it in their working life.  This seminar aims to help fulfil this purpose. 

How the seminar is taught

The seminar comprises one hour of in-person tuition and discussion, and two hours of reading by the students in their time.

The seminar pack comprises a 30 page document containing the complete seminar materials, and a supporting deck of 38 slides (which contain a simplified version of the seminar materials). 

The seminar materials and slides can be adapted by universities and colleges to fit their requirements.

There are two possible alternative ways in which the seminar can be provided to students:

Option A:  Pre-reading and moderated discussion (no slide presentation)

• The seminar materials are distributed to the students in advance of the seminar.  It is estimated that the students will require approximately two hours to read and consider the materials.
• The students then attend a one hour in-person or online seminar in which they participate in a moderated discussion on the materials. There are a set of questions at the end of the materials.  The moderator may select which of these questions is debated, or use alternative questions.
• The slide deck is not used in Option A.

Option B:  Slide presentation, discussion, and post-reading

• The students attend a one hour in-person or online seminar in which the lecturer presents the slides. The slides will take 35 to 45 minutes to present, leaving 15 to 25 minutes for discussion.
• The seminar materials are then distributed to the students after the seminar for them to read in their own time. The materials will give them a more comprehensive view than the slides.

If desired, the questions contained in the seminar materials can be used for a written test. 

Conditions of use of the seminar materials

The materials contained in this seminar may be used and adapted by universities and colleges in whatever manner they wish, provided that they are used as part of their teaching curriculum.

GIACC does not charge any fee for the use of these materials.  GIACC provides these seminar materials free of charge to users as a public service in an attempt to raise awareness of corruption and to help in the prevention and detection of corruption worldwide. 

No consent is required from GIACC to use these materials.

The university or college using these materials may put their own name on the materials.  However, there should be the following acknowledgement in a suitably prominent location in the materials:

This seminar is based on materials provided pro bono by the Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC).  www.giaccentre.org

Obtaining the seminar materials

If your university or college wishes to consider providing the seminar to its students, and wishes to receive further information, or a copy of the seminar materials, please contact GIACC.