U of T SJD candidate Ashley Barnes (first row, second from left) and U of T SJD candidate Eden Sarid (second-last row, second from right) with fellow CIGI scholarship students.
By Mary Taws, CIGI
On August 15th, U of T SJD Candidates Ashley Barnes and Eden Sarid were featured in the Centre for International Governance Innovation’s inaugural graduate student conference organized by 15 summer students at CIGI’s International Law Research Program (ILRP). The conference combined invigorating discussion as well as productive feedback from top Canadian academics.
CIGI-ILRP explores policy issues around three key research areas: intellectual property and innovation; environmental law and economic law. Barnes, Sarid and their fellow scholarship students covered a range of policy challenges in those areas during the event, by creatively linking environmental governance, IP law and even international dispute resolution under the broader theme of law for sustainable socioeconomic development.
“The panel’s theme had me reflecting upon the ways in which my research corresponds to my peers’ work,” says Sarid.
CIGI-ILRP Director Oonagh Fitzgerald and Deputy Directors Bassem Awad, Markus Gehring and Damilola Olawuyi acted as moderators and directed feedback from CIGI Senior Research Fellow Silvia Maciunas; Université de Montréal Professor Konstantia Koutouki; Université Laval Professor and CIGI Senior Fellow Jean-Frédéric Morin; and U of T law professor and CIGI Senior Fellow David Schneiderman.
“We wanted to tackle the larger debate among ourselves about the relevance of international dispute mechanisms,” says Barnes about her presentation on vital actors excluded from international dispute settlement. “[The conference] was an interesting debate with my colleagues, which sometimes you don’t have the opportunity to do when you’re focused on your own project.”
Beyond the feedback Barnes and Sarid gained to further their own academic goals, the dynamic environment of a think tank allows them to see their work through the lens of a policy research agenda.
“My time at CIGI exposed me to the special role think tanks have in influencing IP policy,” says Sarid. “The experience also provided many opportunities to engage in fruitful collaborations with the great minds working there.”
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Calling all SJD/PhD students interested in working in a collaborative and dynamic environment:
CIGI is pleased to announce a unique scholarship competition in partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The ILRP invites doctoral students who are completing their SJD/PhD in law (or those who have completed such a degree in the last two years) to apply for post-doctoral fellowship, open to citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
- Candidates must apply through the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competition by September 21, 2016. CIGI gratefully acknowledges the support of SSHRC in jointly funding this initiative.
