Interdisciplinary
According to Ornella, the most appealing aspect of the program was its interdisciplinary approach. "Before I came to the Netherlands, I had mostly studied common law in South Africa. When I entered the first year of LiS, I was thinking in a very different legal way, coming from a common law background. I had been taught to deal with certain issues with a specific mindset." During LiS, she realized that there isn't always a legal answer when studying societal issues. "I have learned that sometimes you have to look from another perspective to understand the issue at hand. Every societal issue has a reason behind it that is ultimately related to humans. In LiS, we are taught to look at a certain issue from different points of view than just the law, such as the psychological view, which is really interesting to me."
Mixed classroom
The diverse classroom also helped Ornella look beyond the issue and understand the underlying reasons. "Having only a common law background when I arrived in the Netherlands, a lot has changed since then thanks to LiS. In class, I was often faced with challenges about how to apply the law and had to adapt my way of thinking about the law. But in terms of the mixed classroom, there are many students from different backgrounds. It's nice to hear examples from different countries, as well as personal opinions. There were some heated debates in class sometimes, but it makes it so much more interesting when there are different views on how the law should be applied. Overall, the main benefit of the diverse classroom helped me have a broader perspective on law and how it should be applied."
Technology Law
During LiS, Ornella took a course about Artificial Intelligence that really sparked her interest. While talking with her brother-in-law, who is a lawyer himself, she realized that technology law suits her really well. "It is future-focused and quite specific, so I decided to do my minor in technology law. The minor was a great way to delve into the different aspects of technology law and convinced me to continue studying tech law in the Master of International Technology Law."
Future
Ornella is not certain about what she will do after finishing her master's degree but is quite convinced it will be in technology law. "Ideally, I will use my knowledge of law to protect other people, for instance, in the field of bioethics, privacy matters, or data protection. Probably, I will start my career at a privacy consulting office or a legal tech team."
