Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2020
  4. arrow_forward_ios 09
  5. arrow_forward_ios A virtual international experience

A virtual international experience

22 September 2020

They can't travel overseas at the moment but UTS Law students can still learn from a different kind of international study.

2020 internships

For many university students, an international internship is a highlight of their study and UTS Law students are no exception.

International Program head, Professor Beth Goldblatt says students who undertake these opportunities learn that their legal skills have global applications:

They learn that the law is context-dependent and they gain invaluable insights into other countries’ legal and political systems – they are then able to view their own country and its legal system from the outside based on these new insights.

In normal times, the Law Faculty offers a range of opportunities to gain both study and cultural experiences overseas – but these are not normal times.

In 2020 the COVID pandemic has halted overseas travel but instead of shelving their plans, over the Winter months a group of Law students participated in ‘virtual’ internships instead.

The students covered a range of countries and experiences including the operation of the death penalty and legal aid in Asian countries, compliance with international human rights law through the UN, and assisting with projects run by the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law (BCCEAL) in the United States.

While it wasn’t the same as actually being there, Pia Gonzalez says there was an intensity about the virtual experience because she was able to look at the death penalty in several countries for her work with the Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP):

I looked at Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and came to understand the politicised nature of the death penalty and how it is used to exert influence, dominance and power.

As part of her internship, Pia co-authored a submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the plight of death row inmates in Vietnam.

Virtual internships

In a first for the international program, several students interned with Berkeley University in the specialist Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law.

More than 600 academics, activists and advocates from around the world work with the BCCEAL across a number of issues-focused groups including social and economic rights and the impact of COVID19.

JD student, Malia Emberson-Lafoa'i chose to research the plight of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon and Hong Kong and found that the pandemic is exacerbating the existing inequalities in the sponsorship systems:

These systems are already flawed and COVID19 is creating a very dangerous power dynamic – migrant domestic workers often have poor literacy and their vulnerability and desperation makes them easy targets for exploitation.

Malia and her internship colleagues worked on a webinar on the domestic workers issue with academics and other global members of the group.

In other Berkeley internships, Tegan Dennehy looked at racial inequalities and COVID19 and helped organise a ‘flash conference’ on the issue.

Berkeley internship

All the students had to adjust to time differences and using online platforms as a substitute for actual contact and they did not have the benefit of the day to day living experience in a different country.

Professor Goldblatt says there’s no doubt the students missed some of the growth that occurs when we travel elsewhere but there were other advantages:

They didn’t get to immerse themselves in the working and living spaces of other countries but they certainly learnt a great deal about law in different contexts in their placements. They also gained some unexpected skills such as remote communication, self-management and work across time zones.

Tegan Dennehy plans to continue with her remote work for the BCCEAL and says the experience has broadened her world view:

I think the virtual internship improved my sense of connection to the world and it’s given me a passion to research further in this area. I think I will  be a more well-rounded graduate as a result of this whole experience.

Pia Gonzalez says her virtual experience was invaluable:

It helped me develop a deeper understanding of the law and appreciation of the versatility of my degree – I also learnt resilience and how to cope with the confronting nature of issues like the death penalty by contextualising the emotion and adopting a professional approach.

The UTS Law Faculty is offering a range of virtual internships over Summer for both under-graduates and post-graduates.

Interested in studying Law at UTS? Find out more about our courses

 

 

 

Byline

Kerrie Douglass
Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to News in Faculty of Law

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility