Veronica Bulatova,
Recipient of the LALIVE Scholarship 2021-2022
- What motivated you to undertake this course at the MIDS?
I got passionate about international arbitration through participation in different arbitration moot courts and was looking for an LL.M. program which would deal specifically with international dispute settlement. Among many other similar LL.M. programs, the MIDS attracted me by its balance between international arbitration and public international law as well as an outstanding faculty comprising reputed academia and arbitration practitioners from all around the world.
I also got interested in the MIDS because of its career opportunities upon graduation, developed alumni network and unique curriculum features (academic trips to Paris and the Hague, academic retreat in the form of a moot court held in Château de Bossey, FIAA workshop on cross-examination in international arbitration).
Finally, the MIDS gives a chance to pursue the program with a full scholarship it manages, and I am extremely grateful to LALIVE for awarding me its scholarship without which my MIDS experience would not have been possible.
- What are you enjoying most about the experience so far?
My year at the MIDS met my expectations. I really enjoyed a perfect combination of theory and practice in our classes as well as heated discussions we had sharing experience and knowledge of different jurisdictions. What I will cherish throughout the years – is the friendship that I built with my classmates and the sense of being a part of a big MIDS family that is ready to support and mentor you.
- Which areas in international dispute resolution appeal to you?
I am interested in all aspects of international dispute settlement taught at the MIDS, but among areas of my particular interest I can name investment arbitration because of a mixture of public international law, investment law and international arbitration.
- Once you complete the course, what would you ideally like the next step of your career to be?
I am eager to apply knowledge and skills obtained at the MIDS in practice by pursuing an internship in a law firm dealing with investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration and public international law.