Hockey taught Evan Tschumi to aim high, his MMP Capstone Project was a milestone goal

Following his dreams from junior hockey in small town Alberta to an elite university in upstate New York to a top professional league in Europe, Evan Tschumi learned as much about setting and achieving goals as scoring goals. 

Those attributes served him well when he pivoted his career to earn a Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. 

His dedication further paid off when his Capstone Project on the dangers of foreign military influence research at Canadian universities was awarded The Dr. Robert Mansell Capstone of the Year Award for the Class of 2025. 

“Hockey teaches you how to get into the top percentile of something, be it the NCAA Division One or the highest pro league in Switzerland,” said Tschumi. “It taught me the amount of work that you have to put into something to reach the highest levels. I think that is transferable to anything you want to do.” 

Born and raised in Calgary, Tschumi played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and then in the NCAA in the U.S. at Colgate University, where he studied International Relations. He played professionally in Switzerland with HC Lugano and other clubs, before returning to Canada and shifting his career focus to public policy.  

Tschumi isn’t the first top hockey player to earn their MPP at the School. Brianne Jenner (MPP 2017) a two-time Olympic gold medal winner for Canada is also an alum. 

Tschumi knew immediately the School was the ideal fit for him.  

“I studied International Relations at Colgate and I loved it. I saw the MPP program as a way to get my foot in the door in terms of policy work and government work, and it was excellent in that regard,” he said. 

His Capstone project stemmed from a policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC). It prohibits researchers at universities in Canada from partnering with a list of universities from Russia, China and Iran because their research is linked to the militaries in those countries. 

Curious about how widespread such partnerships were, Tschumi analyzed five years of Canadian research data, focusing on collaborations with Named Research Organizations (NROs). His findings showed 15 of Canada’s top universities had partnered with NROs, with the University of Alberta and University of Waterloo leading in potentially STRAC-breaching publications. China was the most frequent partner country. 

Tschumi credits his academic advisor, Dr. Jennifer Winter, for helping to focus his Capstone and pushing him to bring his research methodology to a professional level. 

“Dr. Winter suggested the methodology surrounding research security in Canada,” he said. “The intention of this Capstone is to inform. If someone is interested in national defense or economic competition, they should understand how prevalent these affiliations are in our universities.” 

Tschumi also credited Paul Pival, Director of Emerging Technologies at the University of Calgary, for guiding him to a feasible methodology and offering key expertise in citation databases. His research provides a methodology that is replicable for researchers to determine if the person or organization they are collaborating with is affiliated with these NROs. 

“This Capstone equipped me with the skills to do solid and honest research. The Master of Public Policy program is helpful for that in general,” Tschumi said. “Coming from a no policy background, MPP helped me get my foot in the door.” 

As he completed the one-year MPP program, Tschumi worked with Global Affairs Canada at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis in June and an internship to work on policy issues at Alberta Justice. His goal is to pursue a career on national security. 

“I want to find a career where I can put the same effort as I did in hockey into my work and move up and do well in a successful team,” he said.  

Pictured L-R: Evan Tschumi, Capstone Award Winner, Alexia Hill, MPP Alumni Council President, Dr. Robert Mansell, Emeritus Professor, and Martha Hall Findlay, Director and James S. and Barbara A. Palmer Chair

The Dr. Robert Mansell Capstone of the Year Award is named for the School of Public Policy’s first Academic Director: Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert Mansell. Through his career Dr. Mansell has authored more than 100 studies touching on critical policy issues affecting Alberta and Canada. As the School’s first Academic Director, Dr. Mansell played a pivotal role in the creation of the School of Public Policy and the subsequent Master of Public Policy Program. 

The award recognizes the outstanding achievement of the graduate with the best written capstone, as nominated by the School of Public Policy teaching faculty and as judged by the Master of Public Policy Alumni Council. It is named for Dr. Mansell in recognition of his career-long dedication to policy research and teaching at the University of Calgary.