The Contemporary Challenges Facing LGBT+ Asylum Seekers: UK and Global Perspectives conference

The Contemporary Challenges Facing LGBT+ Asylum Seekers: UK and Global Perspectives conference, was held on 1 May 2019 at the University of Reading, School of Law. The conference as a whole was hosted by the Migration & Asylum Section of the Society of Legal Scholars under the auspices of GLAR, and it was sponsored by the Society of Legal Scholars and by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

This podcast is the first panel from the conference, which was focused on UK Perspectives. It features three speakers, and was chaired by Dr Ruvi Ziegler (University of Reading), who also was the organiser of the conference.

Part 2 features the second panel, on Global Perspectives. It featured four speakers, and was chaired by Dr Ana Beduschi (University of Exeter).

Congratulations to our USSU National Mock Trial Competition team

Mikhailis Moulagiannis and Katie Stephens

Congratulations to our team of first year LLB students, Katie Stephens and Mikhailis Moulagiannis on their exceptional performance at the USSU National Mock Trial Competition, coming second. The final round was held in Kingston Crown Court in front of HHJ Sarah Plaschkes QC. The trials were based on various areas of criminal law, such as blackmail and drug dealing. Our team competed against Swansea University in a case regarding large quantities of Class A Drugs.

The teams were scored based on knowledge of the case, application of facts, advocacy skills, overall presentation and ability to adapt, and the top teams from each round went through to the next.
The competition was organised through the University of Surrey Law Society as a national competition sponsored by the University of Law.

It teaches you a lot about working as a team and how crucial attention to detail and knowing the case is” – Katie Stephens

Hague University Visit

On May 17, 2019, Dr Andrea Miglionico attended the LLM Fair at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS). He met the Dean of the Law Faculty and the Vice-President of the European Commission and presented the wide offering of the School’s programmes to the University’s students.

2nd Year Law students at the SEDA Conference 2019

Year two students Megan Bennett and Tom Fuller presented at the SEDA Conference in Belfast (Staff & Educational Development Association) on 9th May 2019. They had been awarded a student bursary by SEDA to present our collaborative project, and they also took part in a panel answering questions from the audience. Megan and Tom , had been part of a core group of five students working with Amanda Millmore and Dr. Annika Newnham (academics from the School of Law) to design assessments for a new module, which embed employability skills. The five students in the core group were Megan and Tom, plus Jess Davies, Teresa Chew & Krissy Hiu. These students ran focus groups with other second year law students, and collaborated in the design of the assessments, and the new module Children, Families and the State is going to be running for their year group as a Final Year optional module in September 2019 with the employability skills focused assessments. The project was awarded money under the PLanT projects scheme in 2018/19.