Queen Mary University of London will be the first UK institution to launch a Master of Laws (LLM) programme in Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law in Paris.
The introduction of the new programme comes at a time when Emmanuel Macron, President of France, has announced his intention to make the country the world’s tech capital – with a national strategy that includes €1.5 billion investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Matt Hancock, UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, also addressed the need for the UK and France to “unleash together the potential for AI” in his recent VivaTech speech in Paris.
The new LLM, which is taught entirely in English, immerses students in commercial law from comparative, European and international perspectives. It adds to Queen Mary’s successful LLM in Paris programme, which was established in 2013 by its world-leading Centre for Commercial Law Studies.
Ian Walden, Professor of Information and Communications Law and Head of the Institute of Computer and Communications Law at Queen Mary, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our extremely successful offering in commercial law, which offers specialisms in areas including intellectual property, banking and energy law. By teaching modules of global legal relevance, we are equipping our students with the skills to succeed in today’s highly competitive, globalised world.
“The new specialism is particularly unique because students can undertake their studies while working full time, thanks to a combination of face-to-face modules in Paris and distance learning modules. The programme is taught by Queen Mary academics with extensive practitioner experience, as well as input from French lawyers. Students can benefit from our connections with the Paris Bar School, as well as from our partner the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, which offers a Double LLM programme. Upon graduation, students will join our ever-growing alumni network in Paris.”
The launch of the LLM will take place on Wednesday 13 June at an event that will explore how technologies, data and digital services can equip lawyers with the necessary skills for the information economy.
Internationally-renowned speakers in the fields of blockchain, e-commerce and intellectual property will attend the launch. This includes Stéphane Larrière, Group DPO and Head of Data Privacy and Data Governance at Atos, and Christian Blomet from multinational law firm Baker McKenzie, which is ranked first in France for Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law by the Legal 500. Also present will be Philippe Coen, Honorary President of the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA), who founded the anti-bullying NGO Respectzone.
Louisa Zanoun, Senior Science and Innovation Adviser at the British Embassy in Paris, said: “The British Embassy is very happy to support this event launching Queen Mary’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law LLM, which illustrates the depth of the bilateral relationship in higher education and research between the UK and France. This event is also in line with some of the recent announcements our Prime Minister and President Macron made at the January 2018 UK-France Summit, namely furthering our collaboration on matters of research, science and innovation.”
Queen Mary’s School of Law is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the UK for the quality of its research and teaching and is ranked 34th globally, according to the latest QS University Rankings. Queen Mary is a global leader in telecommunications law and engineering, and since 2004 has offered joint programmes with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), a global leader in telecommunications through the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science.