 Hi everyone, I'm Lucy Okola, I'm a lecturer in the law department, I'm a lecturer in law agenda and I'm also currently finishing my PhD in the law department. I've been at SOAS for the past seven years, almost eight. I came to SOAS to do my master's, have a law background from benevolence and I came to SOAS to do master's in human rights conflict and justice and I stayed on to do my PhD in international law which I'm currently finishing. I've been teaching at SOAS for the past three years. So today I'm going to talk to you a little bit about how law, how we perceive laws at SOAS, at least how we teach some aspects of law and what may interest you to join the law school at SOAS. And I see that my colleague Michelle has also joined, great, she's waving. So I'm going to give you a very brief presentation on looking at how we teach some aspects of law within the law department but also to maybe trigger your ideas around what do we think about when we think about law, what are the ideas that we have around law and how can we expand those ideas a little bit more. I'm going to just start sharing my presentation. And it may be that I disappear if I put the presentation on full screen. So my presentation today is about law, what it is and what it ought to be. So what is law and what do we think law should look like? When we think about law, we often think probably around criminal law, we think about tort, we think about property law, commercial law, all aspects of law that have a direct effect on our daily lives. But we don't really think about what law actually is, what makes law legitimate and what is its function. So what do we need to understand about law to be able to say that we are law-abiding citizens, that are in a society that takes into consideration not only how law affects us but what our rights are as well. So to start to talk about law, we also need to consider what law actually is and what it means for us. So our understanding of law is very much centered on this idea of things that we see in our society, the way law is taught as school and the way we perceive our rights and responsibilities within our society. But that shapes our idea of what law ought to be or what law is as well. Because we are in the West, we are in the UK, this conceptual idea of what law looks like is pretty much centered around our societal interaction but also how our values and our norms. So when we think about law, we also have to think about how law looks like in different parts of the world. It's one of the aspects that we look at when you study law as so as for example. So kind of not for example as a legal scholar, art is that our idea of law particularly the way we look at it in the West is very your center. It says meaning, it describes law as a Eurocentric enterprise. Meaning that law is part of a broader cultural endeavor that attempts to promote European values and interests at the expense of all others. Law carries out a Eurocentric program as it organizes and directs culture. Law does this by reinforcing a Eurocentric way of thinking, promoting Eurocentric values and affirming indeed celebrating the Eurocentric culture experiences. So if we think that law is a Eurocentric concept, particularly the way we practice law in the West, then what are other things that we need to consider when we think about law and what are the things that we are missing when we don't take in the cultural aspects of geographical regional interactions in our society. So when we think about law we really also have to think about how it affects our interaction with each other, but also how it affects our lives. So how it affects the way that law is not only affirming our needs, but also affirming the needs that for example the government needs to provide for us. So when we look at law we also need to believe as an instrument, the legal instrument that is able to not only give us life but also grant us certain responsibility when it comes to aspects of those rights. So law is and should be an instrument that serves social, individual interests, but it can also be a catalyst for progressive social change and transformation. And the way we can see that is the way law has been used in the past and currently to affirm certain rights but also to limit aspects of rights and movement of certain groups in different parts of the world. We see that law as a legal instrument can be used for the benefit of society, but it can also introduce dangers in the way that it reproduces this notion of discrimination and inequality. We can see those dangers for example if you look at Jim Crow laws in the United States, the Nuremberg laws in former Nazi Germany and the apartheid legal order in South Africa. We see the benefit is the counter aspect of that and for example the constitution of those rights that have been introduced in many parts of the world, but also anti-discrimination and equality laws that guarantee that people should be treated equally. They guarantee that you should be treated equally but they don't always reaffirm that notion. So international human rights has been an aspect that introduces us as to what we think is universal, what some aspects of universal rights that we all should be adhering to. So when we look at law as a legal instrument, we also need to consider that particularly when we look at for example human rights law. We say that not only does law need to provide us protection, security and other aspects of how we enjoy life in our society, but also law also guarantees us that we can go to legislation to affirm these rights. So why is it important to focus on human rights? Why is it important to be able to say that law is not only providing certain aspects of how we navigate our society and how society is then able to pay it to our needs, but it's also because it reaffirms those notions around, for example, non-discrimination and equality, making sure that there is no distinction between how people are treated based on their sexual orientation, their gender, their religious beliefs, et cetera, et cetera. But also it also introduces this aspect of particularly focusing on the protection of women. For example, when it comes to violence against women, we can do that and we can look at that from a domestic perspective, but we can also look at that in aspects of conflict. So in what way does law offer these protections? And we can also look at how law reinforces notions around social political rights and making sure that we are able to access things such as health care, et cetera. And housing-wise benefiting from the idea that every person has the right to have access to housing. And then sexual reproductive rights, and we can see that it's an ongoing debate even within the Western context. For example, look at the United States, the southern part of the United States in Texas, where really sexual reproductive rights are ongoing debates along how women's bodies should be treated and who has the right to speak on these issues. And then, of course, this placement of force we see when it comes to the movement of people, people trying to escape violence, trying to seek asylum. So what does the law tell us about that? How do people have to run to, for example, seek asylum? Who is being a refugee? Who is considered a refugee and within what context? And, of course, we also have the issues around labor rights. So, for example, how old are you supposed to be when you start working? What aspects of child labor rights are considered in different parts of the world? Exploitation of labor rights? All of these things play a significant role in how we view law and how we understand law to function within our society. But it shows us now that not only is important to consider that law creates sites of power and privileges, but it also reaffirms certain ideas that we have around our society, particularly when we look at it from the context of Western society looking into the global south, for example. You can see ideas around cultural essentialism that women in the third world, for example, are portrayed as victims of their culture, which reinforces stereotype and racist representation of that culture and privileges of the culture of the West. The legal scholar, Ratna Kapoor, was written and done a lot of research around how women, particularly in the global south, are viewed from a Western perspective. But it also means that if we look at law, we don't introduce certain aspects of, for example, gender, that gender without the attention to colonial genealogies reproduces gender as element of imperialism as a civilizing project. Seeing law as a way to reinforce that colonial project that saw the majority of the global south, the majority of the countries that were colonized as uncivilized and primitive nations that needed to be reintroduced, needed to be introduced to aspects of law in the governance. So we see when sites of power and privilege are introduced to aspects of societies where there is a different understanding of what law wants to be, particularly when it comes to, for example, religious law, that it creates conflict. And we need to consider how law then is often navigated through the perspective of how not only women are viewed, but also other marginalized groups and what that means for the representation of legal reforms in that sense, right? So when we talk about, for example, the ideas of including more aspects of how the law affects women's lives, how the law affects particularly those who are already marginalized within our society, it's really important to consider aspects such as intersectionality. And intersectionality in a way challenges the law to look at the social marginalization of women's experiences, the disparities of the theory and the practice of race and gender in law. So particularly how race and gender within the Western context initially did not take into consideration that race and gender would be a significant way of looking at people's lives experiences and how law affects them. Childly essentialist views and power differentials in human rights, there's also an aspect of what intersectionality does. So making sure that we view how important it is to see that there is the recent conflict where sex and power interact. And particularly when it comes to those who are already marginalized, it's important to view the context of that problem. So without intersectionality we reinforce the gender binary and then other sources of conflict. Without intersectionality we tend to look at people's lives as one dimensional. We think that the law actually isn't applicable to all in society in the same way. Not considering that certain aspects of the law will have different effects on different individuals. So the reason why intersectionality is so important is because intersectionality requires us to ask questions of our own privilege and association in law. Particularly how we understand law and what law is and how law then is representative of. So when we look at ideas around what law is and what law should be, we also need to consider aspects of how we do not live single issue lives as part of the law here. There's no such thing as a single issue struggle. Because we do not live single issue lives, meaning that there is no way that we can just look at law without contextualizing that every individual person's experiences will be difficult. It's not to say that we need to cater each law to every individual. But there are certain aspects of taking into consideration that certain groups in our society, for example, women, black people, people from a different faith, et cetera, will have a different interaction with the law. And what that does and what that then does is then mitigating around how we explain those differences but also how we probably explain cultural clashes when law does not take into consideration that we are a multiple society. And then we're taking different aspects of all these different groups and how we interact when we're not assigned to make a more actual environment. So what law is and what ought to be, some of the things are a challenge. Some of the aspects that we look at, particularly within the context of looking into the global salad, looking into different parts of the world. And depending on whether you're doing undergraduate studies or pushback studies, would be quite important. The more in-depth analysis of what law should look like or what law is in that context, particularly, for example, how it affects women, how it affects queer people, how it affects those who are marginalized within the context of society and are lacking representation. When we think about law, we also need to look at society, we need to look at culture, we need to look at how we interact within that society. And what it means to actually say that we live in a society with interest to most survivors, particularly if we are not part of the law and we then take into consideration the majority of the people that are affected negatively, but are assumptions of law and those who are not part of the law. Thanks so much, Lucia. Is that the end of the presentation? Excellent. Students, do you have any questions with respect to what Lucia was just discussing there? Unfortunately, she has to leave us shortly and then I'll give you an overview of the School of Law and what it's like to study undergraduate law at SOAS. But we wanted to start off with one of our big ideas, which is really intersectionality and the way in which as law students and law scholars, we have to think about what it means and who law is empowering at various points. Are there any questions for the chair before she leaves? We need to really think about it. When you study undergraduate law, you probably come to university thinking that you're only going to be looking at, for example, court law, property law, etc. When you come to SOAS, it's a little bit different. We have modules that particularly look at, for example, legal systems in parts of Asia, parts of Africa and what law and how law is represented in those parts of the world. Particularly our understanding of law or your understanding of law will be expanded. This is one of the benefits of not only studying at SOAS, but also thinking about law from a wider perspective. So not only the limitations of what we look at law within our Western society but also considering how law affects different parts of the world. Particularly when we look at the colonial interference in history. Thank you. Well, if there are no questions for Luchia then, thank you Luchia for that. That's fantastic. I might ask then to start our discussions together today before I go on to another presentation, because I want to make sure you're all up and awake at the moment. Why do you want to study law? What's motivating you to come to this talk today? If you could just put a few lines in the chat for me, that would be great. Yasmin, I'm very passionate about social justice and wish to see change. I think that's true of pretty much all of the people that are going to be working in the department and that will be teaching you. I'll illustrate when I show you the school but that's a great reason to be studying law. Yasmin, thank you for sharing. I can deal with world problems from a perspective of trying to help people. Again, that shows a real sense of law as being in service to people as law is problem solving. And I think as a lawyer, that is really the central focus of your degree. It's a lot about understanding the causes of problems. Why are these things happening? Why is this particular act being held accountable, criminally responsible for this particular act? And what is the cause of that? We look both at the individual causes and also the society that brings such things about. Samuel tells us, I just find the idea of law and how it affects society interesting. Yeah, that's a fantastic reason to come to law. I think law is as our head of school so often says, it's the architecture of our world. It's the plumbing, everything that's underwritten. Everything that we can do, say, buy, sell, all our relationships and interactions are really underpinned and underwritten by law. So I think you're right, it is a fascinating topic. Seeing as this would differ across cultures, as Lucille was pointing out in her presentation, legal systems of Asia and Africa which is our key signature SOAS course for undergraduates will give you a foray or an entrance into really thinking about that and how a plurality of different legal cultures and legal systems understand the law and also, as Lucille mentioned, the role of colonialism in the creation of law and legal systems and how a western perspective has really underpinned so many of the systems today. Harry, it is the most fascinating way that business are affected. And changes in the law from the trust bus to modern monopolies. Yes, you've been watching, no doubt, recent court hearings and also cabinet hearings in the United States and in that respect and undoubtedly you've seen Facebook on trial to some extent in the public media, if not yet in the court system. So Hill says, I find law incredibly interesting as it allows us to help people around us in various ways. Yes, and I feel helping people is something I have always wanted to do. And law seems like an incredible and exciting way to do it. I completely agree with you as somebody who worked in a number of different legal settings prior to becoming a legal scholar. I started out my legal career at Allen and Overy LLP as a corporate lawyer of all things. I soon realised after a few years there that that was not my path in life and moved into monitoring war crimes trials and then subsequently working with the United Nations and a number of non-governmental NGOs non-governmental organisations in West Africa and Southeast Asia and law really opened all those doors for me. It enabled me to pursue work and to pursue a career across the globe and situate myself in doing exactly that or trying to do that. Of course I was very critical of the role of the United Nations after time of having worked in the system, but I still believe that fundamentally law can be used as an instrument to speak truth to power and as an instrument of social change. So I think you're absolutely on the right track, Sahil, in wanting to do law for those reasons. Excellent. Well I might let Lucia leave us because she has to teach and I know that she's very kindly joined us for her big idea to present to you this and as I think she was really speaking to a lot of the things that you've mentioned in the chat there with respect to how SOAS sees the role of our law program and law students. Wouldn't you say Lucia? Yes, definitely. Thank you, Michelle. It's always really interesting from looking at particularly how law is part of SOAS from my own undergraduate experience in law studying and it's a complete change. So I teach one of the core modules here, which is legal systems of Asian Africa and one of the feedbacks that we always get from students that is such a challenging course, but it's also something that they've never been introduced to before. So it's always a really, it's an interesting journey for them to understanding how not only law affects our own society, but particularly how will your law affect different parts of the world. So if you're thinking about it, so this is one of the aspects of the things you will be introduced to, particularly viewing how different groups in our society are often marginalised within the context of law, even without us realising why, because we see law as a market for social change, we see law often as something positive. But it can also have negative influences in society. But in some aspects of the law that we often don't particularly look at since good time, not only how law is created and how law has an effect on our interactions, but particularly how law is still very much rooted in this idea of colonialism and civilising different parts of the world. So it's an important aspect of understanding what law ought to be made. I'm really happy that you are all very much interested for all the right reasons in studying law. So it was great meeting you. Excellent. Thank you so much, Lucia. And yeah, we're really happy to hear all these various points of view. And as a good cross-section there, too, I can see that some of you are interested in the topic itself. You're fascinated by law. Some of you want to go and work with corporates possibly to see how business can be is affected by law in so many ways. And then you're also wanting to see law as an instrument of social change. So I suppose now that we've had our big idea moment, I thought I would spend just five to ten minutes explaining the law program at SOAS to you. And then I'll open up the floor, the questions in case anybody has any burning questions they want to ask about what's offered at SOAS, how we structure our undergraduate program as a whole, so if there are any questions with respect to the presentation that we see aggrieved with respect to intersectionality or any other concepts. So let me just share my screen now. Well, the first thing to say to all of you is congratulations. I think it's a fantastic time to be thinking about studying law. Law is arguably the most important, continues to be the most important subject to study given its importance and significance in how society functions and operates. It's increasingly moving as we see from an understanding of law and legal relations that are very local or parochial and very much about relationships in the country where you're from. So in England and here in the United Kingdom you'd be studying the law of England and Wales in an English university. So a much more international focus understanding the cross-border relationships between different countries and with the Paris Agreement being somewhat renegotiated and thought through again next month at the Climate Change Conference in Glasgow of course at COP26. We see on the front page of newspapers nearly every day something in relation to how the impact of law and legal relations here in the UK has an effect on the globe, on carbon emissions globally and the reduction of carbon emissions. And ultimately law has become global. Law is very much seen now as regulating transactional flows on the one hand and relations, human relations between people from all corners of the world through both its presence in relation to the virtual world as well as the world in real life. So what then is the role of the lawyer in the 21st century and why might you want to be studying law at this point in history? Well I think that law has really become you're moving from becoming an interlocutor in between parties engaging in negotiations or relationships to come to an agreement as a contract lawyer traditionally would have to also becoming a change maker and a defender. Increasingly we see some of the most important people in history have in fact been lawyers. Everyone from Ho Chi Minh to Shea Guevara to Rosa Luxembourg to name a few from last century. And of course even today many of the people who are making headlines in the news themselves have studied law. From SOAS alumni David Lame who's now a politician studied law with us here. And law underwrites really every relationship in society. It's the fabric that holds society together. And here at SOAS we want you to start thinking of law differently. When we think of law in the ordinary sense we think of it as governing political communities or more often than not known as states. When we look at a map we think this is a fairly traditional map of the world and we look at these various entities and we think of law as being different in each of those countries but essentially being about governing those communities. But at SOAS we want to start questioning the way we see this map. What is it that we divide the world in this way? What is it that cartographers are trying to tell us when they make certain states larger than others for instance? What if we saw the world instead in terms of its population size? Wouldn't then China and India be more prominent in our understanding of the globe? And certainly wouldn't the countries of the global south think of the world in terms of the global south and flip our views? This is an upside down world map but is it really upside down? Who is it that really now is of significance in our thinking about law and legal relations? Should it be just us or should it be just us or should it be just us or should it be just us or should it be just us or should it be just us? Shouldn't it be us here in this world ever thinking more freely about thinking about law and legal relations? Should it be just us here in the UK or should we be thinking much more globally? In a situation where we can front now a global pandemic with COVID-19 isn't it becoming more obvious than ever the planets together. Could we see it as both not only a science and a cartographer's map, but also an art, as Pierre Mondrian did in the interwar period in his understanding of the map of the world, or as Julie Meretou does in her understanding of global spaces today. It's so as we want you to see the world, not simply as it's been taught to you traditionally, but to think through both imaginatively, creatively, and scientifically and rationally, how law operates, and what that means for the globe and the planet, as we understand it today. So why study law at SOAS then? Well, I can give you at least 21 or so reasons. At SOAS, you'll be joining a community of scholar practitioners, all of whom themselves have been involved in processes of social change across the globe, be it fighting resistance and engaged in resistance movements in Palestine, to fighting for LGBTQIA rights in the plus QIA plus rights in the India Supreme Court, to special rapporteurs for Sudan, to investment arbitration, and in the pan African context. What you'll get here is a group of scholars that are deeply committed, not only to ensuring that their scholarship is rigorous and original, but that it really reflects the panoply of understandings of law from across the globe. And it's this diversity of perspectives that we think really sets us apart as a school and as a community. It's the fact that we don't stop and simply see law as a parochial endeavor in England. We see it as really about relations across the world. But more than us, I think what you're coming for is your peers. If you see they don't look particularly happy at their graduation, I think there must have been some kind of a boring speech going on, or possibly one that was talking about deep issues, because a lot of them look very serious. But what you can see from this group is the diversity of student life at SOAS. We have students coming to SOAS to do undergraduate law from all across the globe, all across the globe from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. And also in our in our postgraduate degrees as well. They look a little bit happier there. So I thought I should share that one with you. So what will you be studying if you come and join us here? Well, of course, the most prominent or a primary undergraduate program that we have is the LLB degree, which looks something like this. In your first year, you will study four compulsory subjects, in addition to introduction to law and legal processes, which is the first two weeks of your course. The way a law degree is structured is essentially it's 120 credit points per year. And to give you a sense of what that means, a full year subject is 30 credit points. So 120 credit points is essentially four subjects. But if you do two half subjects, then it could be six or eight, depending on the year you're in. In your first year, we take you through with some depth and rigor, the primary subjects required to obtain a law degree and to be a practicing lawyer in England and Wales, namely criminal law, contract law, property law and public law. But then in your second year, in addition to doing tort law, EU law and property law too, or trusts, you will also do legal systems of Asia and Africa, which as Lucia was mentioning, is really about understanding law in its global context and its international context, and being able to see how systems of those states and countries across the globe have really interacted with the law of England and Wales amongst others. We then also get to choose either one four year subject or two half year subjects of your own. And there's a vast majority or wide range of subjects you can choose, which are available for viewing on our website. But it can be anything from international commercial arbitration to the art of advocacy to international law, international human rights law, refugee law, environmental law, law and society in South Asia amongst other subjects. And then in your third year, you really get to choose the whole range of subjects in terms of options. So it'll be all in all in terms of really where you see yourself going post SOAS. If you're more interested in going into the commercial world, then there'll be a number of corporate and commercial subjects you could choose. If you're more interested in social justice, you may choose various options in relation to international law or international human rights law. And you are also able to choose a subject from a non SOAS from one of the University of London schools. So not SOAS in other words. So we've had, for example, students go and do tax law at UCL. As long as the subject is not currently available at SOAS, you are able to go and do that subject in the in the college of your choice. It's provided it's the University of London College. I'm just checking. Just wanted to check who was chatting. That's fine. Welcome, Noshin. Additionally, in addition to our LLB, we also have an LLB degree with a year abroad, which essentially means you're doing the law degree, but you also opt to take a year abroad at one of our partner institutions. At the moment, we have partner institutions in Thailand, Singapore and India. And we're also likely to have more partner institutions by the time you join us next year. We're looking at institutions currently in New York and also in Turkey. So do get in touch with us if you're particularly interested in going and studying abroad as part of your LLB degree. There's also something known as the senior status degree. So if any of you have already undertaken an undergraduate degree that wasn't a law degree, and you want to now convert that or come and study law on top of having done a BA in politics or a science degree in chemistry, you can do the law degree in two years as a condensed two year course, which essentially means that you're doing the same number of subjects, but you're doing it in a shorter amount of time. And that degree really focuses on the core subjects, because in order to become a barrister in England and Wales, it's important to have done an LLB degree as at your undergraduate level. And then finally, there's also the BA law degree. This is a bachelor in another subject at SOAS. So you might do economics and then do some law subjects as part of a part of that BA course. And it's not a president would not qualify to be a barrister. Although with respect to the solicitors qualifying exam, which some of you may already be aware of, essentially what's happened with the law society of England and Wales is that they've now brought in an exam, which is the only requirement for practicing lawyers to become solicitors in England and Wales. So as of next year, there'll be a transitioning for solicitors away from the LLB in the sense that you won't have to do a law degree in order to qualify as a solicitor. You will just simply need to pass SQE one and SQE two. So one option could be if you're not entirely sure that you want to do an LLB, you're not really sure if you're interested in the core subjects, you're more interested in law as a the philosophy of law and law as a broader option. You could do a BA law in which you choose from a number of law subjects, and you don't have to do all seven of the core subjects, you just do criminal contract law and legal systems of Asia and Africa. And then you can choose from a wider range of subjects at SOAS in other departments as part of that degree. So careers after SOAS then, just to let you know, a recent survey found that SOAS law graduates were ranked as the second highest paid solicitors in the UK, which came as somewhat of a surprise to us here at SOAS. But apparently we were ahead of Oxford Cambridge and King's College in that Chamber survey. In terms of what I think sets you apart as a SOAS graduate, and here I've got, of course, David Lamy on the right of the screen, is essentially your in-depth knowledge and understanding of law in both its local and global context. And what we're really aiming to have at the end of your three years is you'll have a strong capacity to think critically and as such become thought leaders in your various professions, be it whether you choose to become a solicitor or you decide to go somewhere else, work for a company or for a non-governmental organisation. And I think really, Lucia hit the nail on the head when she was talking about the notion of intersectional experience and intersectionality. As SOAS graduates and as SOAS scholars, it's fundamentally important to us that we understand that the experience of those who are at the other end of the legal system, be it those who are faced with charges in the criminal justice system, be it those who are suffering at the result of austerity measures in the current government. We want to look at how law affects the most vulnerable in society and how what we can do then to secure greater rights for those parties. But even if you don't agree with that perspective, if you actually take a different point of view, you're much more of a doctrinal lawyer, you will be given the skills to think critically at SOAS and you will be able to ask those questions of yourself and be reflexive about how you're defending your clients or representing your clients. And I think that's really important and what employers increasingly find appealing about SOAS graduates is that intellectual capacity to think critically about the issues and about law in its current context. So here's just a number of our alumni to give you a sense of who's been to SOAS in the past. And I'll stop sharing there and see whether there are any questions or concerns from that presentation. We're at 11.45 now. So we have about 10 minutes to go. If there are any questions, was it clear first and foremost? Oh, thanks, Yasmin. That's very kind. Amazing. I'm hoping it makes you want to come. We're looking forward to having you. Very informative. Great. Well, are there any questions or concerns at this point? Are people thinking of coming to do the LLB? Or are you more thinking you want to do a BA law or something else? Yeah, LLB with you at Euro Broad, Harry. I think that's a great option. And really a great way to experience another country and cultures law degree, which is very different in different parts of the world. Personally, I have a lot of friends who are now scholars and practitioners in Indonesia and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. And both their teaching is very different to mine. So it's always good to have those discussions about how we teach and what the degree is like for the students. Yasmin, yes, absolutely. Anthropology as a field is absolutely so fascinating. In another life, I might have been an ethnographic field worker going out to understand how different cultures across the globe work or what makes people tick. I think if you're interested, both in how both, I guess, both the way in which societies are governed and then also how different cultures understand governance, that would be a really great combination. And certainly at undergraduate level, you know, you can do undertake a lot of different paths at the same time, I think, expand your mind and broaden your horizons. Something like anthropology and law will give you a lot of scope to decide from there where you want to go with your working life. Anyone else? Yes, Noshin, did you have any, we've also got a student here, a current law student at SOAS. So do you want to maybe have a few words, seeing as they don't have quite have any questions at the moment, but it might be good for you to just tell them your experience of SOAS law and how it's been for you. So hi, everyone. My name's Noshin. I'm currently a third year student at SOAS. I've had an amazing time so far, and I'm glad to be back in person for my third year. I'm really looking forward to that. Please let me know if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer from a student's perspective and just to give you a bit of background information as to the modules that I've studied so far. I've done the core modules of property, criminal contract, all of those ones. And the modules that I've chosen to study have been I did a module in Arabic. And this year, I did my module in Arabic last year. And this year, I'm studying environmental law, and alternative dispute resolution, family law, law and society in South Asia, a history module, and last one slipped my mind. But yeah, I'm happy to answer any questions if anybody has any. Okay, so the first question is why did you pick SOAS and what has it been like to study with SOAS? So I picked SOAS because because of the like, I think Lucia and Michelle did touch upon this earlier, but they really teach law in a very unique way and give you an insight into how law is practiced across the world. I took the module Legal Systems of Asia in Africa last year and it was really, really interesting. And it's probably one of the reasons that I chose to study law and society in South Asia this year, which is probably so far one of my favorite modules. It really gives you an insight into into different cultures, different ways of life. And yeah, I've just found that really interesting. I've also found that the student body is really, really diverse at SOAS. Like Michelle said, there are genuinely people from all over the world. And it's so, so interesting to be able to speak to them and meet them and hear their perspective in class and things like that. It really makes debates and things really, really interesting. And my final reason would probably be that I've always wanted to study Arabic. And this degree gave me, SOAS law degree gave me the option to have an insight into Arabic. Not sure how good I am, but it was really nice to study it. And yeah, as I mentioned, it has been a really, really great experience. I don't think I would, I really truly do feel like SOAS was the university for me. I hope that answered the question. Thank you so much, Noshin. Are there any other questions either for Noshin or myself? We're happy to. Oh, here we are. No, do you think that studying law as well as the language was useful? And so I did take the beginners Arabic, you do get to, you know, if already do you have a degree of proficiency in a language, you can take the, you know, a more advanced class. So I took the beginners Arabic. It did give me a very good insight. And it has, it did motivate me to carry on taking classes outside of SOAS law, because I'm not sure how much I want to be graded on my Arabic anymore. But it was very, very helpful in that it really developed that passion of mindful languages. And it does come across as quite impressive, I think, to two employers when you say that you are studying another language or that you are proficient in another language. It has been something that I've mentioned in a couple of interviews and things like that. Yeah, if you want to work for the UN, for example, the United Nations, having proficiency in a second language is one of the UN languages, Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, or Russian is, of course, important. But then also for a number of other careers and pathways as well, I think it's can just open up a number of different doors in both settings, both in the non-governmental setting, the governmental and also in the commercial setting. So really depends on on you and where you see yourself going. Excellent. Any other questions or shall we leave it there for now? Well, I'll put my email address here anyway, in case anyone has any further concerns or questions after today's session. And Nishina's very kindly agreed to answer questions as well. So I don't know if you can give them your address yet. And then that way, if there is any burning questions afterwards that you think, oh, I should have asked them that, please do get in touch. We're happy always to be to be helpful and to answer questions. I think that's one of the things I like about most of SOAS. It's very much a community feel, and it's very much about an open door policy. Everybody is is here to to be a part of the community and part of the group. And I think it's in part because we're quite a small school. At the moment, I think we're around 5,800 students, which is quite small comparatively. But the benefit of being that size is that you really get the sense that people are a part of the community and part of that culture of caring and looking after each other. So great. All right. Thank you so much, everybody. I might then let us leave the room for today, I think, because we probably have to make way for the next session. Some of you may be joining the next one. I think it's finances on next in the room, in case anybody's also thinking of becoming an investment banker or using finance in their careers. Otherwise, I think we can say goodbye and wish you all the best for your career path. And I hope to see you at SOAS next year.