The effects of online cognitive training on job search behavior and skills among university students in Ukraine

The study includes a single treatment arm. Treated participants are invited twice per week to complete online cognitive training sessions of approximately 30–45 minutes each. The training is designed to target the cognitive domains measured in the baseline assessment. The intervention lasts four weeks and consists of eight sessions in total. Completion of the cognitive training is voluntary.

2026-03-30

2027-02-28

Labor market outcomes and aspirations (i.e., employment status, (expected) labor earnings), job search behavior (i.e., search activity, job search motivation)

Engagement on the J4UA platform (i.e., interaction with and clicks on specific features), academic behaviors (i.e., academic performance, study effort), cognitive dimensions targeted by the intervention as well as measures of well-being and life satisfaction

We recruit students enrolled at universities in Ukraine to participate in an online randomized controlled experiment. Recruitment is conducted at the university level over several weeks, with universities invited to disseminate the study invitation to their students. Participation in the study is voluntary.

Randomization is conducted at the cohort level, defined by university × study field × study year. When the first student from a given cohort registers on the J4UA platform, the cohort is assigned to either the treatment or control group with probability 0.5. All subsequent participants of the same cohort are assigned to the same group as the first registrant. To maintain balance within study fields, each new cohort is assigned to the underrepresented group within a given study field. If the two groups are balanced within study field at the time a cohort registers, then the cohort is randomized with probability 0.5 into treatment or control.

All participants are required to register on the Jobs for You in Ukraine job search platform (J4UA) and complete the baseline questionnaire, which includes a skill assessment. J4UA offers a job search engine that displays ten recommended occupations along with corresponding vacancies. The intervention lasts four weeks.

All participants are invited to complete surveys at midline, endline and follow-up.

Not available

When the first student from a given cluster registers on the J4UA platform, the cohort is assigned to either the treatment or control group with probability 0.5. All subsequent participants of the same cohort are assigned to the same group as the first registrant. To maintain balance within study fields, each new cohort is assigned to the underrepresented group within a given study field. If the two groups are balanced within study field at the time a cohort registers, then cohort is randomized with probability 0.5 into treatment or control.

If individuals who are not students register on the J4UA platform, they are randomized individually to the treatment or control group with probability p = 0.5.

The randomization unit is a cluster, defined as the university x study field x study year. If individuals who are not students register, they are randomized individually to the treatment or control group.

Yes

We plan to have 280 clusters with an average of five participants per cluster and assuming a rho of 0.1 where the rho is the intra-cohort correlation.

We plan to have 1,400 enrolled students.

We plan to have 140 clusters for the control group and 140 clusters for the treatment group.