Thanks to the Erasmus+ Programme supported by the European Commission (European Union), the University of Luxembourg welcomed its first Laotian exchange student in September 2019. The Uni.lu has signed in April 2019 an agreement with NUOL to become a partner University in the Erasmus+ Programme, via the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP.) The student was selected in coordination with the FLP, following interviews ran by Dr. Perrine Simon, with Mr Somsack Silithip and Mrs Sonenaly Nanthavong, both faculty members, based on law background, English level and motivation. Ms Thongkhoon Xayyahong was granted a scholarship to study for one semester in the law bachelor of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (Belval campus). The incoming student followed classes in English during the Winter semester including Global constitutional law Public International Law, Philosophy of Law, Contract Law and Labour law. She successfully passed her semester abroad.
The University of Luxembourg is an outstanding multilingual and multi-cultural university where students come from all around the world. Ms. Xayyahong said that learned a lot during her semester abroad, especially thanks to the different style of teaching in Luxembourg, compare to her home university. She picked up in particular how to better develop concepts and legal arguments and put them into practice through case studies and analysis of case-law, strengthened her knowledge in theory of law, and was exposed to more group exercises during seminars. Thongkhoon greatly improved her English skills and got to experience new people and cultures.
“My exchange in Luxembourg pulled me out of my comfort zone and opened the doors to new experiences and opportunities for me”
Ms. Xayyahong was selected to participate in the STARS Winter School funded by the Erasmus+ Programme focusing on clinical legal education in the European Union. The Winter School took place at Rome Tre University in Rome (Italy) in February 2020, and was organized in part by the Pr. Elise Poillot from the Department of Law of the University of Luxembourg. This was a unique experience for Thongkhoon, who used to be a volunteer at the Law Clinic of the FLP, to learn about European initiatives with students from Roma Tre and Brescia Universities in Italy, Palackeho V Olomouci in the Czech Republic and Romano-Americana University in Romania.
