Through the years the Department of Postgraduate Legal Studies has assiduously been developing links and contacts all over the world. In July and August this year, a number of adventurous LLM students leapt at the chance to take advantage of this and participate in the Summer Law and Culture Exchange Program at Nanjing Normal University in Jiangsu province, China.

This program promotes exchanges between Chinese and foreign law students, introduces the latter to the ancient culture of Nanjing and its surrounding areas, and offers an unrivalled opportunity to understand both Chinese society and the legal system in China.

Following a rigorous application and interview process, five students were selected (Debbie Obiegbu and Ogaga Omekeh from Nigeria, Jack Lavalette from the UK, Marine De Geofroy from Switzerland and Amaury Sainte-Cluque  from France) to represent us. The trip turned out highly rewarding, with extraordinarily informative sessions with Chinese professors and students, together with other international visitors, and a number of visits to ancient sites and the local courts.

Commenting afterwards, Ogaga Omekeh said “This trip was an amazing experience that exposed me to the people, the law and the fascinatingly rich culture in China. The Law and Culture Exchange Program in Nanjing is definitely one of the high points of my time at Swansea. This is an absolutely excellent initiative, which has certainly given me very useful knowledge and contacts that will be tremendous for my career. This really does show that Swansea University really is the place where bright futures begin."

Nanjing 1
Swansea LLM delegation at Nanjing


Debbie Obiegbu described her experience as an “extraordinary one”. She continued: “ Legal learning in China is incredibly informative and highly competitive. I am extremely grateful to the Department and the University for the opportunity for the opportunity to sample it, as well as the chance to visit many legal and historic sites like the Nanjing Arbitration Tribunal, the Shozhou gardens and the Nanjing museum. Thank you so much!" 

Marine De Geofroy also said: "Thanks to the partnership between Swansea and Nanjing Normal University, I have had the BEST experience of my life. Nanjing University welcomed us warmly and paid so much attention to us. Attending lectures and seminars with brilliant Chinese students has been extremely motivating; moreover, I built strong friendships that I didn’t think was possible in just 10 days. I felt proud to represent Swansea University and win an Award for "Outstanding student". I can only hope that our Chinese students/friends will visit Swansea and feel as welcomed and at home as I did in Nanjing."  

Dr Theodora Nikaki, one of the LLM Employability Co-ordinators, commented: “The Department of Postgraduate Legal Studies is extremely grateful to Nanjing Normal University for offering our LLM students this invaluable opportunity to understand both Chinese society and its legal system. At Swansea, we aim not only to deliver a first class education, but also to broaden our LLM students’ horizons by organising activities of this nature”