A one-week ‘Winter School’ in Brazil has given six law students from Kent the chance to learn more about emerging trends in international and consumer law.
Second-year law students Theodora Akrivou, Dan Bradbury, Jessica Cespon Chiu, Mihai Covrig, Jessica Luu and Nusrat Khan enjoyed classes taught in English delivered by international experts from the UK and US as well as Brazil. Hosted by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Porto Alegre, the programme was designed for undergraduate and graduate students as well as young professionals from Brazil and all over the world. Although students attended during their summer vacation from Kent, the programme takes place in Porto Alegre during the Brazilian winter (which runs from June to September).
Lecture topics included international humanitarian law, new trends in migration law, the International Criminal Court, and legal aspects of gambling (delivered by Maria Luiza Jobin who previously worked as a Research Assistant on Kent Law School’s £0.5m Bingo Project). Associate Lecturer Dr Lucy Welsh from Kent, who accompanied the students, delivered a lecture on the human rights implications of prison privatisation. Dr Welsh also delivered a talk about Kent Law School during a visit to a neighbouring university in Canela (where students were also able to take a trip on a cable car and visit the Caracol Falls).
Other visits were made to the local law courts, to a law firm, the Santander Cultural museum and to the city’s arbitration centre. Student also had the opportunity to develop Portuguese language skills.
Kent Law students first attended a Winter School in Brazil last year when it was hosted jointly by the UFRGS and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte. A few months later, in November 2015, Kent Law School signed a formal partnership agreement with the Law Faculty at UFMG in Belo Horizonte, signalling the start of a long-term collaboration that is intended to be of benefit to academics and students alike.