Summer Programs Circle the Globe
USF School of Law students and Susan Mendelsohn (right) in Vietnam.
Aug. 11, 2008 -- Approximately 135 students participated in USF School of Law
international study and internship programs this summer, exploring topics such
as human rights, transnational labor regulations, intellectual property law,
climate change, international legal responsibility, global copyright and
trademark law, and mediation techniques.
"The summer abroad programs are invaluable in that they give
students the chance to study areas of law, critical to a career in
international law, that are not available in the United States," Professor and
Director of International Program Development Dolores Donovan said. "The
international clinical internships are even more important to students seeking
careers in public or private international law, for they give students the unparalled
opportunity to intern with international law firms and with NGOs (non-governmental
organizations) and governmental offices specializing in public international
law and international development."
More than 100 students took part in
study abroad courses held throughout Europe and in Cambodia. Courses in Dublin,
Ireland, occurred on the 35-acre campus of the 400-year old Trinity College and
explored European and international law. Students studying in Budapest, Hungary,
attended classes in the neoclassical buildings of Pazmany University. Courses
examined climate change, transnational labor regulations, and international
law. In Prague, Czech Republic, a five-week program studied the legal systems
being developed in Central European countries as they prepare for membership to
the European Union. Finally, the program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, examined the
history of the Khmer Rouge and explored theories of criminal liability.
Twenty students participated in intensive for-credit
internships this summer. In Bangalore, the home
of India’s high-tech industry,
interns received a one-week introduction to India’s legal system, and then worked
in law firms or non-governmental organizations. Students traveled to Bilbao, Spain,
to take positions in commercial law firms and offices of the Ministry of
Justice after receiving three days of instruction on the legal system of Spain. Internships
in Hanoi, Vietnam, took place in law offices and
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) offices.
Not for credit internships were
also offered in Dharamsala, India, where interns taught Tibetan refugees; and
in the Dominican Republic, where interns met with government officials and
human rights advocates as they studied the treatment of Haitian refugees. In
addition, virtual internships joined USF students in San
Francisco with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti to work
on human rights issues.
"I always gain a new perspective on
life and on the world from travel," says Donovan McKendrick 2L, who interned at
a major international business transactions law firm in Bangalore, India. "There is a great difference between reading in the newspaper and watching on
TV stories about a country, and being there, living the news stories. I learned
about the new world—the global markets and interdependence of nations—and of
course, much about India itself, from my time abroad."
To learn more about the Indian internship program, click
here. For more information on the summer abroad programs, visit the
study programs website or call (415) 422-6280.
