UBC law students and faculty will get the opportunity to study and teach in Thailand under a collaborative agreement reached between UBC and Chulalongkorn University.
In May 1999, the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University will begin a Master of Laws (LLM) program, taught in English, in partnership with law faculties at the University of Victoria, UBC and the University of Kyushu in Japan. Two faculty members from each partner institution will teach for month-long stints each year at Chulalongkorn. The master's program, oriented to business law, will include environmental law issues, intellectual property law and international trade law.
"Our faculty has exchanges with a number of schools but has never been able to exchange with Thailand because of the language barrier," says Douglas Sanders, a UBC law professor and faculty liaison to Chulalongkorn.
The proposed 10-month program will have a student body of about 20 students, drawn from the four universities.
Sanders, who has taught constitutional law for close to 30 years, initiated talks with Chulalongkorn in February after presenting a seminar at the university which is located in central Bangkok. An agreement was reached in principle on UBC participation in the English-language LLM program following his second visit. An official memorandum of understanding was signed by UBC's Dean of Law Lynn Smith last month.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for faculty and students," says Sanders.
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand's most prestigious post secondary institution, was founded in 1917 by King Rama VI.