With over 20,000 students, Trisakti University is Indonesia’s largest private university. It boasts nine faculties and many reputable programmes. The Faculty of Law reached out to us requesting to design an international law summer school. After many months of hard work, we presented the “International Law and Global Issues” programme in collaboration with Eefje de Volder (Tilburg University) and, subsequently, traveled to Jakarta to teach it on campus.

The Programme

Trisakti’s summer school aims at helping students obtain a more solid understanding of international law and debate an array of contemporary issues. Our 5-day programme covered topics like mass atrocities, international criminal law, human rights law, harmful practices, and human trafficking. The program was open to 30-40 students selected based on performance and motivation.

Morning sessions consisted of lectures on the international legal framework concerning a specific topic. In the afternoon, students would put their knowledge into practice through group assignments— this ensured an interactive dynamic that kept participants engaged. At the end of the day, group assignments were discussed in a plenary session.


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UN Simulation

We also organized a United Nations Security Council simulation, for which we provided a scenario and role sheets. This was a unique opportunity for students to edit, debate, and vote on a specific draft resolution to address the issues at stake. The objective of this simulation was to expose students to the dynamics of the Security Council negotiations and step into the shoes of world leaders to tackle pressing global issues. 

The programme also included various social events. During the excursion to the university-town of Bandung, we visited the Asian–African Conference Museum. The students had a guided tour of the memorabilia of the Asian-African Conference of 1955, an event in which many countries joined forces to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation.

Our Conclusions

The group’s deep understanding of pressing global issues in the context of international law had grown noticeably towards the end of the course. Many students went from being shy and reluctant to share their perspective to confident, involved participants who joined class discussions and debates. We were pleased to witness their evolution and to hear the university’s feedback, which was very positive. All in all, this was a rewarding experience for everyone involved!