International Day at Faculty of Law
15 January the "International Day"-event was held at the Faculty of Law. Representatives of 30 universities in Europe, the USA and Australia met students interested in studying abroad.
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"Perhaps I'm a bit home-loving: the first place I thought about was Denmark. That was gradually extended to Scotland and Britain, and now I've been to look at Australia," smiles Victoria Vikstøl.
Victoria is a fourth-year student and is one of many students who attended International Day. She is strongly considering studying abroad as an exchange student in the autumn.
"It is constantly pointed out that law is becoming more and more international and I would like to get an insight into other countries' legal systems. Today has been very informative. I am no wiser, but now I have more choices," she laughs.
For Victoria, the academic side is more important than location when considering where to study. She wishes to go to a place that offers Criminal Law or Human Rights.
"I have spoken to the international coordinators at the faculty and many of the universities represented here. It is good to be able to talk to them in person and not just hear a presentation of the university," she says.
Almost half the law students study abroad
Victoria is far from alone in wishing to be an exchange student. Almost half the law students spend one or two semesters abroad. No other faculty of the University of Bergen sends out a greater proportion of students.
"Prioritising internationalisation is one of the faculty's strategies, and we are fortunate to have good resources to enable us to give our students good information and follow up with them. We can see that this gives results," says Nathalie Gaulier, international coordinator at the faculty.
This is the seventh year that the Faculty of Law has organised an international week. The week consists of a day of practical information for students who consider studies abroad and an international day, with visiting partners from all over the world.
"30 collaborating universities were represented on stands today. This gives the students the chance to get to know the universities and is a good opportunity for us to maintain good contact with our partners. We can discuss existing agreements and get to know those we have not met before," says Nathalie.
130 agreements
Altogether, the faculty has 130 different agreements with 118 universities. There are 136 law students studying aboad in 2014/2015. During the same period, the faculty has welcomed 160 foreign students who have decided on Bergen for their exchange period.
"Being an exchange student is a unique opportunity. The students become more independent and demonstrate that they can tackle challenges and adapt to new surroundings. They will meet people from many different cultures who will give them new perspectives, and they will get to know a new legal system and perhaps learn a new language. If they have this opportunity, why shouldn't they take it?" asks Nathalie.
Three universities on why you should study with them:
Professor Andrea Biondi, King’s College London
– King’s College is truly an international law school. We have a very long tradition of collaboration; in fact we were the very first university which had a joined degree with France. Our staff and students are from all over the world, all with different backgrounds. We offer LLM-degrees with a big variety of topics. You will live in the law capital of the world, London, and have a year full of experiences with studying and living. I always have some students from Bergen in my courses, and they are very happy to be in London, Andrea says.
Véronique Legrand, Université de Caen
– We would be very happy if we could receive students from Norway. Our weakness is the language, but we try to work hard on that point. We are working on an English track for foreign students which hopefully will be ready for 2016. Now we offer intensive France courses during the summer. Many students are afraid that they will not make it through the courses though, but my experience is that many students manage. We have students from Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, Italia, Belgium and other places, and most of them make it! If you do it, you will know three languages when you come back home: Norwegian, English and French, and that is a good thing. Many students want to have a job while they are here, and it is very easy to get a student job. Then you will meet other people and improve your French. Life is cheap in France compared to Norway. It is about three times cheaper. We provide housing on campus and alternative housing outside the city, Véronique says.
Khary D. Hornsby, University of Minnesota Law School
– Our faculties in Bergen and Minnesota Law School know each other very well, and Dean Strandbakken has visited us several times. Our university is ranked in the top 10 % best law schools in the US. It is a degree program, so you will get a master degree by participating in our programme. Students are excited about that they can get a degree from one of the top 10 % best law schools in the states. Also, you can qualify as an US attorney. That means that you can practice law in the states.
Minnesota Law School is located in the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Minnesota is the healthiest state in the USA, and we have the best public park system. 3.5 million people live here, so we have all the opportunities of a large city and the energy of a small city. And we have the biggest shopping mall in the United States, Khary laughs.