The first Steering Committee of our phase II took place of the 12th of July 2021. Despite the difficulties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions in place, the Committee convened in a hybrid format, with the FLP counterparts and Dr. Perrine Simon (Liaison Officer) physically present at the FLP, and the representatives of and Uni.lu-FDEF, the Luxembourg Embassy in Laos, LuxDev and ILSTA joining online via WebEx.
The Committee meets at least a year to ensure the monitoring and evaluate the progress of the Project, as well as to decide upon future directions based on the annual plans proposed by the concerned universities. This year’s Steering Committee was held successfully and was quite special as it concluded the end of phase I (2017-2020) and officially launched the phase II (2021-2024) of the Project.
Committee members underlined the continuity and dynamism of the Inter-University Project in the last 4 years. Pr. Stefan Braum, Project leader for UNI.lu stressed the importance of the research stays in Luxembourg which have been a success and led a to a special publication in a law journal. They reflect the “pragmatic individual approach” taken to help Lao lecturers to develop their research capacity. He also highlighted some of the Project’s significant achievements such as the establishment of a e-library and the gradual involvement with students with moot court, lectures and student exchanges.
Dr. Perrine Simon summarised the activities that have been organised in the past year and presented the Annual report for 2020 and the general report highlighting the achievement of the Inter-University Project between 2017-2020 (see brochure). She also presented the novelties of the phase II and the planned activities for 2021. She also introduced the new Project Assistant, Ms. Thongkhoon Xayyahong recruited in July 21.
The Project foresees, in phase II, research is scaling-up with the selection of up to 3 Lao candidates for a PhD in Luxembourg for which a public call for applications is set to open very soon, as well as with new research grants supervised by the Project. The Project will also from now on provide scholarship opportunities for a master in Luxembourg, and internship opportunities, for the FLP and UNI.lu students.
The next Steering Committee, also the first reporting on activities of the phase II, is set to be organised in February 2022.