In June, three PhD students from Bucerius Law School participated in the ATLAS Agora in London. The two-week Agora summer school is the core project of the Association of Transnational Law Schools (ATLAS). ATLAS has committed itself to supporting and promoting networking opportunities among talented doctoral students in the field of jurisprudence. In addition to Bucerius Law School, current ATLAS members include American University Washington College of Law, Bar-Ilan University, Erasmus School of Law Rotterdam, National University of Singapore, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Queen Mary University of London, University College Dublin and Université de Montréal.
This year’s Agora was hosted by Queen Mary University of London under the academic supervision of Dr. Maksymilian Del Mar. About 30 participants from various universities took part. Bucerius Law School was represented by PhD students Elias Bornemann, Maximilian Kunzelmann and Nico Schröter. All greatly enjoyed the numerous methodology lectures, thematic presentations and workshops to gain feedback on their doctoral projects and insight for future scholarly work that were on offer. The program was conducted by the permanent and visiting faculty at Queen Mary University. Seminars for all attendees addressed legal issues as well as practical skills such as public engagement, public speaking and publishing. The feedback workshops for the students’ own PhD projects were conducted in small working groups under the auspices of an experienced member of faculty.
A significant part of this year’s summer school was the inaugural conference of the ATLAS members. Representatives from member universities presented their current research, which was then discussed by all attendees afterwards. The talks covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from legal theory to enforcement in immigration law.
Extracurricular activities and events with local doctoral candidates rounded off the program and offered participants an opportunity to exchange ideas with peers in an informal setting. Activities included a guided tour of the UK Supreme Court, a visit to the Inns of Court (Middle Temple), as well as a city tour of east London.
Bucerius Law School provided its participants with funding towards their travel and accommodation costs. The next Agora will take place in June next year at American University Washington College of Law.
