On Friday, March 15, Professors Barbara Burke and Michael Widener, from Phoenix School of Law, Arizona together with Ennis Solicitor Sharon Cahir, met with several faculty members at the University of Limerick School of Law, including Laura Donnellan, Andrea Ryan, Eoin Quill and Eddie Keane.

The group had a lively discussion of a variety of possible bilateral initiatives that the Phoenix School of Law might undertake with UL’s Law School, emphasizing projects to leverage technology resources to shrink the geographical distance separating the faculties. Among the program ideas discussed were moots and joint problem-solving exercises, the sharing of “best teaching practices” that the respective faculties have found effective in their lecture halls, course-oriented blog sites for student and faculty joint use, and the creation of an electronic scholarly journal.

This potential twinning of the two faculties illustrates the potential of “sister communities” interactions that can lead to mutually beneficial exploration, combining the resources of human capital and cyberspace (a “wisdom of crowds” notion), while growing friendship and greater understanding among colleagues in the global education enterprise.

The planning of such a joint venture dovetails with UL’s Srategic Plan 2011-2015, “Pioneering & Connected,” which articulates the University’s intention to internationalize curricula in order to instill the spirit of global citizenship in its student population. Phoenix School of Law, with its student body derived from many nations and ethnicities, earnestly desires to make a small contribution toward the realization of UL’s goals.