Students earn top honours in EU policy competition

Two Brandon University students have earned national recognition after finishing in the top ranks of Canada’s premier European Union policy competition.

Josh Ransom and Katlego Khoza were named among the winning delegates in the 2026 Schuman Challenge Canada after securing a top-three finish with a policy proposal titled “Stronger EU-Canada Security and Defence Partnership.”

The achievement earned the pair an all-expenses-paid study visit to Brussels, Belgium, where they joined top representatives from the U.S. Schuman Challenge, placing the university alongside some of the continent’s post-secondary institutions.

Ransom, a double major in economics and political science entering his third year at Brandon University, said the nine-day trip was both intellectually demanding and personally rewarding.

“It was an amazing experience,” he told the Sun. “We got to visit a lot of different European Union institutions, learn how policy is made and meet a lot of very intelligent and high-level people in the European Union.”

The European Union organizes the Schuman Challenge and brings together university students to develop policy solutions aimed at strengthening EU-Canada relations. In Canada, other universities recognized during the 2026 semi-finals included the University of British Columbia, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and the University of Calgary.

The competition unfolded in two stages. Ransom and Khoza submitted their policy paper in April before learning they had advanced to the national top five. They then travelled to Ottawa in early May to present their proposal before European Union representatives, eventually earning a top-three finish and a study trip to Brussels between June 30 and July 5.

It was the first time either student had participated in the Schuman Challenge.

Ransom credited his teammate, Khoza, who is studying applied disaster studies at the university, for helping develop the winning submission.

“He is very intelligent and informed about this kind of stuff, so he helped me write the essay. It was the coolest experience of my life, probably,” he said.

Competing against students from some of Canada’s largest universities made the accomplishment especially meaningful, Ransom said.

“Not a lot of people outside Manitoba know what Brandon is, and we have a very small school relative to the other schools we were competing against,” he said. “It was cool to go there and show that we can compete with these schools on an intellectual level.”

Beyond the competition itself, Ransom said the experience allowed the pair to build new friendships while gaining firsthand insight into international policymaking.

“I really want to do more challenges like this because I learned a lot and had so much fun,” he said. “The goal next year is to get good grades, and we have a few more competitions lined up.”

Developing the award-winning proposal, however, was far from easy.

Ransom said the research process required significant time and effort, with the biggest challenge being transforming extensive research into a practical policy recommendation.

“It was really hard to research all of this,” he said. “The biggest challenge was turning the research into a realistic policy. It’s easy to come up with an ideal policy, but you have to balance ambition with practicality. If it’s not realistic, then it doesn’t matter.”

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