MILE PhD projects

Legal Education in the Netherlands: A holistic Analysis of its Past, Present and Future

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Sjoerd Claessens, Dr Nicole Kornet

Project Description: Over recent years, it has become clear that legal education has been under-researched while new teaching techniques blossomed in other disciplines. Although there is literature dedicated to legal education, it is still a long way away from providing a comprehensive overview of what legal education is, should be and could achieve. The present research aims to rectify this by making use of several different methods - descriptive, historical/exploratory, normative and empirical – in order to give a holistic analysis of legal education in the Netherlands, with special attention paid to the tensions that seemingly exist between education and practitioners.

Juridisch Onderwijs in het tijdperk van Artificiële Intelligentie: een onderzoek naar een constructief en toekomstbestendig leerproces van juridische studenten

PhD Researcher: Nikki van Dijk

Supervisors: Dr Nicole Kornet, Prof. Dr. Sjoerd Claessens

Project Description: Dit onderzoek analyseert de impact van AI op juridisch onderwijs, met als doel te onderzoeken op welke manier het juridisch onderwijs toekomstbestendig kan worden vormgegeven. Onderzocht wordt hoe AI de ontwikkeling van kerncompetenties beïnvloedt binnen bestaande onderwijskundige kaders. Centraal staat het leerproces van de student, dat wordt geanalyseerd vanuit diverse invloedssferen om te bepalen of leerdoelen en onderwijsmethoden moeten worden aangepast en hoe deze aanpassingen eruit zouden kunnen zien. Het onderzoek levert inzichten en aanbevelingen op voor een zorgvuldige en verantwoorde integratie van AI, met behoud van belangrijke beroepsvaardigheden en de integriteit van het onderwijs.

English

Title: Legal Education inthe Ageof ArtificialIntelligence: an investigationinto aconstructive and future-proof learning process oflaw students

This research analysesthe impactof AIon legaleducation, with theaim ofinvestigating how legaleducation can befuture-proofed. It willinvestigate how AIinfluences the developmentof corecompetencies within existingeducational frameworks. Thefocus ison thestudent's learning process, whichis analysedfrom variousspheres of influenceto determinewhether learning objectivesand educationalmethods need tobe adjustedand whatthese adjustmentscould looklike. Theresearch provides insightsand recommendationsfor thecareful and responsibleintegration of AI,while preservingimportant professional skills andthe integrityof legal education.

The good jurist: Mapping the core attributes of a good jurist and the educational practices that stimulate their development'

PhD Researcher: Carolina Cicati

Supervisors: Dr Nicole Kornet, Prof. Dr. Sjoerd Claessens

Project Description: The aim of the research project is to identify the core professional attributes jurists develop during the undergraduate law degree, in particular uncovering the more hidden aspects of legal education, the nature of the community a novice student is being introduced into, and the best educational practices that contribute to the enculturation of students into the community of jurists.

Learning for the Future, the Future of Learning: How to Teach Soft Skills in Higher Education

PhD Researcher: Ainsley Loudoun

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Simon Beaseaurt, Dr Laurie Delnoij, and Dr Inken Gast (SBE), and Prof. Dr. Sjoerd Claessens and Dr Nicole Kornet (LAW)

Project Description: One of the main aims for higher education is to prepare students for a dynamic and constantly evolving labour market. To thrive in this environment, students need to become lifelong learners with a solid dose of professional skills, such as leadership, reflection, teamwork, and global citizenship. In line with this, different programmes across UM faculties are increasingly paying explicit attention to the development of such professional skills. In addition, programmes are paying attention to study and career guidance, given the wide variety of study and career possibilities students are confronted with. Such initiatives range from full coaching programmes to a series of separate workshops, from skills training integrated into content courses to separate tracks and from face-to-face or one-on-one guidance to blended and group-based education. Though, so far it remains unclear what the successful characteristics of such skills education are. In this project, curriculum (re)design projects across different disciplines (i.e., law, health sciences, psychology and business) are synthesized to design an evidence-informed framework for professional skills education. The proposed scientific output (i.e., the resulting studies) includes a systematic literature review on the underlying principles of generic skills education, an in-depth qualitative study on the design principles of skills education from different perspectives, and two intervention studies that implement the insights from the first two studies, as well as evaluate their effectiveness.