Veronica Palazzo - SLI Participant in 2011
"...a unique and special occasion to get in touch with another culture and... improve your interpersonal skills!"
My name is Veronica Palazzo and I am a 24 years old Law student at the University of Milan. In July 2011 I attended the “Summer Law Institute Program” at the Peking University School of Government in Beijing (China), organized and coordinated by the University of Milan. I would like to tell you something more about this important experience.
The Summer Law Institute program can be qualified as a multidisciplinary one: it is composed by two complementary curricula: “Intellectual Property Rights and China” and “Summer Institute Climate Change and Environmental Protection”. Obviously, the attendance is quite demanding, but certainly worth it.
Attending both curricula - like I did -, you can get in touch with IPR and environmental topics (unfortunately less studied in most law curricula).
You can also acquire technical skills related to basic international economy, as well as Chinese law.
Especially thanks to the Summer Law Institute, thinking of my personal experience, I have increased my competence in Industrial Property Rights, becoming aware of my elective interest in IPR, and improving my skills in that field.
As a matter of fact, back from Beijing, I had the chance to do an internship for an important law firm in Milan: “Franzosi” law firm, specialized in IPR. The internship was three-months long and it was a very useful experience for me. I tested myself doing research, writing legal documents with the constant support of brilliant lawyers, in a very challenging, and at the same time quiet, workplace. Moreover, I attended conferences, which helped me improving my IPR skills even further.
Writing about the Summer Law Institute experience from an extra-academical point of view, I would like to underline how much it can improve your interpersonal skills! Staying so far from home (8000 kilometers!) for an entire month is a good chance to test your adaptability in a foreign context, completely different from ours! It can be a good stimulus to become more and more reactive in everyday life. You get in touch with many people, find friends, sharing with them beautiful experiences, maybe not simple ones but always very challenging!
To sum up: an unique and special occasion to get in touch with another culture, so far from our tradition, also acquiring personal skills and academic competences. What are you still thinking about? You cannot miss this opportunity!