Virtual International and Abroad Opportunities Fair
Sept. 11, 2020
On Wednesday, September 9, American University Washington College of Law hosted its first virtual International and Abroad Opportunities Fair.
Over 100 students attended the virtual fair where 26 WCL programs, offices, and student organizations staffed “Zoom tables” to let participants know about ongoing and upcoming international and abroad opportunities. The following programs were present to answer questions:
- Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- African Law and Policy Association
- Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society
- The Arbitration Brief and The Center on International Commercial Arbitration
- Business Law Program
- Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- European Law Student Association
- International Communications Regulation and Policy and Spanish for Lawyers
- International JD Dual Degree Programs and Semester Exchange Programs
- International Human Rights Clinic
- International Law Review
- International Law Student Association
- JD/MA Program
- International Trade and Investment Law Society and Trade, Investment, and Development Program
- Lawyering Peace Program
- Law and International Development Society and Program on International Organizations, Law and Development
- Office of Career and Professional Development
- Program on Environmental and Energy Law
- Tech, Law, and Security Program
- U.S. and International Anti-Corruption Law Program
- War Crimes Research Office
While the law school is not always able to offer programs in the usual manner during the pandemic, programs have been creative and continue to provide opportunities for students to develop international and global skills and attitudes. Some examples include:
- The event itself was a great success! “In previous years, an in-person fair has been hosted for students to move from table to table to have individual conversations, and we’ve been able to maintain that in an online environment,” says Rachel Gordon, assistant director of WCL Abroad.
- Some programs made big changes, including the Summer Law Program in The Hague, which offered virtual classes in Summer 2020. Students had opportunities to learn from expert speakers in The Hague and take virtual tours of institutions they would have visited in person.
- Many international competitions went virtual at short notice, and will plan to do so again during the next year.
- Other programs will continue virtually hosting guest speakers from all over the world, now that distance is no longer an issue. Some summer programs like the WTO and U.S. Trade Law and Policy program had participants from all over world, increasing classroom diversity and allowing students to interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures.
The law school will continue to adapt to the changing pandemic environment by providing students with innovative opportunities at home and abroad for the fullest law school experience possible.
For more international and abroad news and opportunities, visit WCL Abroad.