While the Annual Meeting of the Rotterdam Law Network would have been hosted this year by the University of Lisbon, Corona threw a spanner in the works. Instead of traveling to Portugal, a Zoom-meeting was organised on 19 June.
Prof. Sanne Taekema, chair of the network, hosted 33 representatives from 22 universities from all over Europe. In the meeting experiences were shared on how universities faced the challenges following the COVID-19 crisis in dealing with the exchange of students and staff: making the switch to online education, how to carry out exams, students returning home etc. Also, the impact of Corona on the start of the new academic year was discussed. Some universities expect to start as normal, while for most it is still uncertain. Some universities have cancelled the exchange of outgoing students outside of Europe for the first semester. In general, the exchange of students will very much depend on lifting travel restrictions and social distancing is putting serious limitations to physical lectures to large groups.
Although the meeting proved to be very informative and efficient, all participants expressed the hope to be able to meet again ‘live’ next year and welcomed, again, the generous offer of the University of Lisbon to host the meeting in 2021.
The Rotterdam Law Network was founded in 1995 on the initiative of the School of Law of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The aim of the Rotterdam Law Network is to enhance international cooperation by cultivating existing and establishing new contacts between the law departments of European universities (currently 34 members) and by providing a platform for an exchange of information and best practices about student exchange, staff and teaching mobility. Each year, the Rotterdam Law Network Annual Meeting takes place, organised alternately by and at member universities.
- More information
For more information about the meeting and the network, please contact Annelies Verkerk, Erasmus School of Law's Coordinator Internationalisation (verkerk@law.eur.nl).