Themis, a Network of Jurists with an International Profile

Fifty-six students from seven of the best international schools of law are assembling at Bocconi for three days to discuss "Doing Business and Social/Human Rights." This will take place from 16 to 18 March during the annual Themis Seminar, held at the university on Via Roentgen, bringing together the seven universities that are part of the Themis network. As the Dean of the Bocconi School of Law, Stefano Liebman, explains, it is more than just an exchange program: "Themis combines aspects of a normal exchange, a semester studying abroad at a partner university, with the opportunity to meet and debate. This event is held every year, rotating between universities." He continues, "Discussions are followed by a competition with mixed teams, in which students begin working before the event. This makes them cooperate and compare ideas, since they are from very different worlds. This is the program's more important feature, its true strength."

In addition to Bocconi University, the Themis network includes ESADE (Barcellona, Spain), Freie Universität (Berlin, Germany), Université Paris Est Créteil Val de Marne (Paris, France), Maastricht Law School (Maastricht, the Netherlands), Singapore Management University, School of Law (Singapore) and WU-Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria). Students participating in the program receive an international certificate issued by the Themis network.

This international aspect is one of the elements students appreciate the most. Students must be enrolled in their fourth or fifth year of the Law program and are selected based on their resume and an interview, explains Marco Sportelli, who is about to graduate and who participated in Themis last year: "The program is also an opportunity to represent our University abroad. We are a sort of standard-bearer. From an academic point of view, it's very important to study and communicate in English in another country, but what this program provides you with is a sense of belonging that is instilled in participants. I did my semester in Berlin, and right from the start I never felt like 'just' an exchange student, but a fully-fledged student of that university."