Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Max Planck Law and the Cambridge University Faculty of Law were able to inaugurate their unique exchange programme in 2021. It is a sign of great hope, and of the two institutions’ commitment to one another, that they are now calling for applications for a second cohort of visitors to cross the Channel.
The relatively improved conditions for foreign travel last autumn allowed Max Planck Law doctoral candidate Irene Domenici to conduct research in-residence at Cambridge during the 2021 Michaelmas Term. Domenici praised the programme as a ‘wonderful experience’ that ‘greatly fostered my personal and academic growth’. Her time in Cambridge gave Domenici the opportunity to collaborate with researchers based at the Cambridge Centre for Law, Medicine, and Life Sciences. Those contacts, and access to Cambridge’s excellent online and library resources, pushed Domenici’s work on her dissertation forward. In addition, the chance to reside at Gonville & Caius College allowed Domenici to establish new, dear, and productive friendships.
During the autumn, Cambridge University doctoral candidate Alexander Ferguson also managed to participate in his exchange residence at . Ferguson was equally enthusiastic about the experience, noting that ‘the library at the MPI-Munich provided an excellent place for reflection, and ready access to all the resources I could need, to make progress on my PhD’. He also benefitted from discussions with researchers at . ‘Those conversations’, Ferguson remarked, ‘encouraged and focused my attention on the issues in my work that matter most’. Outside the library, Ferguson found Munich’s English Garden an excellent place for a run, and his stay in Munich provided a base to explore Germany, including a visit to Berlin.
Call for Applications for the Second Exchange Year
Building on this successful first exchange of researchers, Max Planck Law researchers can now apply for the programmes’ second year.
A maximum of two doctoral candidates or postdocs from the participating Institutes of Max Planck Law will be given the opportunity to be in residence in Cambridge during either Michaelmas Term (autumn) or Lent Term (spring). MPL’s visitors to Cambridge will be treated like regular Faculty visitors, with access to the library, online resources, and the Senior Combination Room. Max Planck Law will cover travel expenses and Cambridge will cover reasonable accommodation costs arranged as far as possible in one of the Colleges. The second MPL-Cambridge Exchange is planned for autumn 2022 and winter or spring 2023. Given current uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the dates for residency at Cambridge must be negotiated individually by the successful applicants.
Domenici urges all her Max Planck Law colleagues to apply for this ‘great exchange programme’, especially those ‘who want to immerse themselves in a challenging and exciting experience’.