Meet the Lecturer: Dr. Noora Arajarvi
Meet the Lecturer: Dr. Noora Arajarvi
With Samantha Ramsaran and Nura Ali
Can you briefly describe your academic path from law school to your current position here today?
I studied law in Sheffield in the UK. I then went on exchange to learn in Belgium for half a year. In the summer prior to that I did an internship at the Human Rights Unit of the European Parliament in Belgium. After graduating from Sheffield surprisingly with 2, 1, I applied and got into an LLM programme in Helsinki in Finland on Public International Law. During that time I decided to apply for a Ph. D. and got accepted to the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. I received a masters in research here which was given automatically on completion of the Ph. D. program. In my final year of the LLM programme I went to New York City on exchange to Fordham University for one semester. I returned to Florence for a few months and then moved to Tilburg in the Netherlands for one year where I went on an informal
contract as a teaching assistant with the European University Institute in the department of European and International Public Law. I then did a very short stint at the International Criminal Court and it was there that I got an invitation from Tilburg University to go back to work on a project. I then defended my PhD in February 2011 and began job hunting. On 10 th May 2011 I received an offer for employment and in early August I moved to Trinidad.
What was your biggest challenge as a student, and how did you overcome it?
The language barrier since English is not my native language. I was able to pull through with the consistent use of dictionaries.
What has been your biggest |
challenge |
at |
the |
St. |
Augustine |
Campus |
thus |
far? |
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I personally haven’ t experienced difficulties. We recently got the new building and I won’ t say that anything regarding teaching has been really challenging as such.
What has been your most memorable moment lecturing at St. Augustine?
It was in the end of my very first lecture where I was very nervous and a student came to me and said something
46 very nice which made me feel very comfortable.
How has your experience as a lecturer been in this transitional period?
Although I’ m not too familiar with administrative procedures I think certain issues should have been settled before the expansion to make it clear which students stay in St. Augustine and which students go to Cave Hill. I also think the course selection is a bit limited since we are strictly bound by what is being taught at Cave Hill and that may not always reflect the expertise of our faculty here.
Do you think the St. Augustine Attorneys of 2015 will be any different than those who went to Cave Hill?
This is a little bit outside my knowledge. However, I believe it’ s good to study in different countries although at the same time it’ s important to build a strong Faculty of Law in Trinidad. So, I would encourage students to look for opportunities outside their home countries after finishing their undergraduate degree.
What do you think are the potential drawbacks of a full undergraduate degree in St. Augustine?