Dr Nina Lueck is awarded the 2017/18 UCL Global Engagement Funds

The Global Engagement Funds (GEF) are intended to support UCL academics collaborating with colleagues based in other countries, driving forward the objectives of the Global Engagement Strategy. The funds are led by UCL’s network of Vice-Deans (International) and regional Pro-Vice-Provosts, supported by the Global Engagement Office (GEO).

Dr Lueck will use her award to organise a workshop and an interactive staff-student seminar in collaboration with Dr Pavel Bures from Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic. The workshop will focus on the concept of human dignity, where students will have to discuss how this extra-legal concept is framed and what impact it has on human rights adjudication before European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The following seminar will deal with the notion of evolutive interpretation, where the key question will be whether the concept of human dignity might or might not serve as a limit for evolutive interpretation.

Dr Lueck and Dr Bures aim to analyse how students deal with the combination of an extra-legal phenomenon and legal aspects.

Commenting on the broader outcomes of the project, Dr Lueck said:

‘The activities involve both staff and students in a very active learning process, and contribute to UCL’s strategy to engage students as partners in research-led teaching and learning within the Connected Curriculum and the ChangeMakers Initiative.’

Following this initial workshop and seminar, Dr Lueck and Dr Bures plan to try out the same concept within the Palacky University Olomouc law school’s Master in International and European Law.

Dr Lueck said:

‘I am delighted and very grateful for this opportunity the Global Engagement Fund is providing. I have been working together with Dr Pavel Bures for a number of years and he is not only an eminent researcher in his field but also a fantastic colleague. It will be great to welcome him at UCL and run both the workshop and seminar together.’

This cycle of the Global Engagement Funds received over 200 applications spread across all the faculties at UCL, marking an 11% increase in the total number of proposed projects.

Professor Gudrun Moore and Dr Karen Edge, UCL Pro Vice-Provost (International) said:

‘It’s great to see the increase in applications, especially from early-career researchers. In the first two years, we’ve seen how even a small amount of funding (usually less than £2,000) has already led to international co-authored publications and external research funding. From the first round of Global Engagement Funds, nine projects have successfully gained external funding worth over £2.1m. We can’t wait to see what this year’s recipients achieve.’

Other UCL Laws academics who will receive funding this year are:

• Professor Ben McFarlane
• Professor Sir Robin Jacob
• Dr Ben Milligan
• Dr Magda Raczynska
• Ms Monica Bhandari