Comparative Law in the heart of Europe
Lydia Beil’s thesis focuses on one specific aspect of commercial law: consumer protection. “The European Union is currently implementing common commercial law regulations. My thesis addresses European and national legislators and compares French and German regulations.”
The proximity of the European Campus’ universities is a real advantage since it allows her to circulate very quickly between the two universities. However, engaging a joint PhD is not as easy as it seems. Three years ago, her first challenge was to find a bilingual thesis supervisor in Strasbourg: M. Bauerreis - a native German speaker - accepted her request. Twice a week, Lydia –who lives in Kehl- drives to the University of Freiburg, where she works as an assistant for her German supervisor M. von Hein. Besides, she regularly goes to the University of Strasbourg to work on her research.
International research exchanges
To access all university facilities, Lydia Beil is enrolled at both universities and signed a joint supervision agreement, which also has its downsides: “I am supposed to sit 3 oral exams in Freiburg and to defend my thesis in front of 3 professors in Strasbourg because neither university recognises each other’s exams.” Despite this additional work, Lydia appreciates this system. She gets the opportunity to attend conferences for international PhD students and several research meetings in France, Germany and other countries. The development of exchanges between researchers of the European Campus universities is part of the “Cross-border Structures” Interreg project which was approved in December 2015. This project also included the update of the Eucor convention on joint supervision. After her joint PhD, Lydia Beil plans to pursue her intercultural experience by working in a Franco-German environment.
