Ahead of the spring semester, students of KDI School of Public Policy and Management gathered to CRAFT – and “suprisingly” there is no wood, metal or textile here, but rather fresh, pathbreaking research ideas. As the first event of its kind, CRAFT, standing for Connect, Research, Align, Find, and Team, is designed to help students formulate their research interests and find like-minded peers, get to know each other, discuss academic interests, and form research and study groups early in their studies. 

The event bridged between newly enrolled master’s students and seasoned PhDs and professors, who stepped in to guide the group’s dialogue as facilitators. At the beginning of the meeting, KDIS’s Assosiate Dean Dong-Young Kim gave an introductory presentation, discussing how to formulate a research question and the academic milestones students can expect during their studies. Head of the Learning Innovation Division, Byung-Kwon Lee later introduced the Capstone Topic Explorer service that he personally designed to offer KDIS students as a platform for finding and developing topics for research. 

Before the introductory session, as we began to bond with peers, students were asked to write down their research interests and post them on the board. The topics were quite diverse, covering such areas as economic and industrial policy, social policy, environmental and energy policy, science, technology, and digital policy, public administration, foreign and security policy, urban studies and infrastructure, as well as demographic change and risk management. 

Based on shared interests, students were divided into small groups where they continued to discuss more specific research ideas. 

During group discussions, facilitators shared their own research experiences, offered advice on academic writing, and helped students decide on the format of their future work - a master's thesis or a capstone project. Particular attention was paid to choosing a topic, identifying the potential audience for the study, and finding suitable data sources. 

The discussions revealed a wide range of interests among the students. Some participants examined the impact of digitalization on national development, while others discussed assessing the effectiveness of social and welfare programs, as well as topics related to food security and international development assistance. One group, for example, discussed the possibility of studying the impact of Korean aid to African countries on food security, including potential ways to support farmers and improve agricultural sustainability. 

The collaborative format allowed the students to gradually narrow their initially broad research interests and develop them into more specific and feasible topics. The exchange of experiences between participants and the advice of their classmates helped many better determine the direction of their future research. 2026 MPP student, CHASANAH Tri Nur, shares with us how did CRAFT went personally for her:

“I have a research interest in political economy and international development. Before CRAFT, I was a bit ambivalent between topics on dynamics in climate-based policy adoption within the agricultural sector in Indonesia - because I noticed there is a rising production cost due to climate change - and topics on international development - I have a question on contending minilateralism as an approach to manage haze pollution in Southeast Asia. I could not see which topic is significantly problematic and feasible to do for 1 year study at KDIS. After attending CRAFT, I am now developing the latter topic about the minilateralism approach. Information sessions from academic affairs about administrative procedures, having a more intensive group to listen to students' topics and getting feedback from the professor is more impactful to contemplate further about my topics. 

Although this was the first time for many of the students, some participants already had significant knowledge in their chosen fields, making the discussions particularly rich.

“CRAFT is a very accommodative event. I personally found it helpful when I was assigned to a group with students who are also facing similar ambivalence. I noticed having a clear outline of the problem and knowing possible concepts to use is important. Professor Dong-Young Kim advised us to have a direction in writing a research project, whether students will do comparative study, causal-effects analysis, or impact analysis, to then argue which policy is a fit.” – says Tri Nur!