Soe Myint Aung is currently a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Oslo, Norway. He is the founder of the Yangon Centre for Independent Research (YCIR). In addition to his previous managerial roles at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Foundation (OSF), he has also led a number of civil society initiatives for political research and education, notably in establishing the Tagaung Institute of Political Studies (TIPS) and the Yangon School of Political Science (YSPS).