IUC alumni are from more than 40 different countries, spanning four continents, representative of a diverse range of disciplines and cultural backgrounds. Please see below for a spotlight of some past IUC students.
Oumou Bouare, MSc CLEF 2010
"From 2008 to 2010, I was one of IUC first year students. I had always dreamed of studying abroad, the International University College of Turin gave me a chance for this dream to come true. I believe studying at the IUC was a very worthwhile experience for me and I learned a lot, and discovered the research and work's world at the same time. The first internship was to the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) Headquarter in Turin-Italy during six months, as first international work experience and the second was to the “Cellule de Controle et de Surveillance des Systèmes Financiers Décentralisés-CCS/SFD, which is under the supervision of Malian’s Ministry of Finance.
These combined experiences were very fruitful for me. It was also a chance for me to meet other students and people who come from all over the world. I could exchange ideas and experiences, acquire knowledge about law, finance, and economics which were IUC main courses. Furthermore, my English skills have improved, particularly my communication skills, which is necessary in daily work in international organizations or government sectors of any government around the world.
Currently I am working with a big international NGO in Mali, which is a great beginning of a real professional career. I would not hesitate to advise or encourage Malians students to apply for this program!"
Shahboz Fattaev, MSc CLEF 2010
"The one year which I spent during my study at M. Sc. in Comparative Law, Economics and Finance program at International University College of Turin (IUC) was one of my best periods in my life. I learnt much about law and economics in this program. For the second year of my study I studied another program which is Erasmus Mundus program called European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE) in three different renowned universities in the Netherlands, Germany and England. The knowledge which I gained during my studies at the IUC helped me to study economic analysis of law in EMLE program. For the time being I am working in a private business. I am a qualified broker in commodity exchanges in Uzbekistan. I am also going to work as a researcher at the Institute of Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research and as a lecturer at the Tashkent Financial Institute"
Tomaso Ferrando, MSc CLEF 2010
"I enrolled to IUC in 2008, and since then I have had the best academic and personal time of my entire life. The first year in Turin was tough and challenging, but at the same time fascinating. I, with a legal background, had to open myself up to learning economics, finance and anthropology, and eventually I discovered the power and beauty of multidisciplinary approaches and interdisciplinary study. Beside that, people were simply fantastic: every day I came across new stories and different points of view, which enriched the debate and created strong friendships, which still remain. The second year, I was given the opportunity to live different experiences and to put together through academic research in one of the best universities in the world together with fieldwork in the Amazon. Thanks to the IUC network I had the chance to be a visiting student at UC Berkeley for the 2009 fall semester, and I spent investigating and profiting from the incredible facilities provided by the campus. I also had the chance to conduct three months of fieldwork in Lima and in the Peruvian Amazon, collecting information for my final dissertation. It was another fantastic experience, which would require tens of lines and hours to be told. After concluding my Masters, I took the Italian bar exam and I'm currently enrolled in a Specialized Master in EU law in Florence."
Jinha Kim
"MSc CLEF porgram at the International College University of Turin provided me with a great opportunity to enlarge my area of work and study. After my university (Yonsei University, Business Administration), I have been working for private and South Korean government funded institutions. During my working experience, I was thinking of studying more in comparative study in Law and Business. IUC was excellent solution to start my journey for new adventure.
Most of All, the benefit of studying at the IUC was the new paradigms to look at the world and the phenomenon of globalization. As we all know, the world is changing very fast and it is clearer than ever that we are inter-connected. With the new flow of globalization, many changes, modification & whole different approaches to society and other nations require new ideas and constructive criticism. While I was at the IUC I had the great opportunity to complete an internship at International Training Center for the International Labour Organization with the support of the IUC. My division was "Social dimension of Trade and Investment" and my research at the IUC focused on world trade and worker's rights in the the context of globalization. I strongly suggest to you to join our IUC community and participate yourself in a fairer globalization."
Manyatera, Gift
"After completing my UNICRI internship during my second year at the IUC, I returned to Zimbabwe to complete the second phase of my 2nd year plan. It was during this phase that I was first of all appointed as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Midlands State University. I was subsequently appointed to be the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law. This has since been a turning point in my professional career. I have since suspended practicing as a lawyer because of the administrative responsibilities that I currently have. I run a Faculty with four departments namely, Department of Private Law, Department of Commercial Law, Department of Public Law and Department of Procedural Law. All these departments have a total of 23 Lecturers and Professors. I hasten to mention that my experiences at IUC and UNICRI widened my horizons and left an indelible mark in my professional career development. To the IUC administration, I say keep up the good work and continue to open the floodgates of opportunities to all young academics from the developing world."
Massobrio, Giulia
"During my second year at the IUC (September 2009), I had the chance to work for the International Labour Organization, both in its International Training Centre of Turin and in the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima. In particular I have been working in the field of union training on topics related to decent work (international labour standards, employment policies, social protection and social dialogue), with the aim of strengthening union participation in development processes promoted by the United Nations System in America Latina.
Such contexts of the academic background provided by the IUC on one side, and the professional and human experience of the ILO internship on the other, gave me core inputs to analyze the impact of markets integration in terms of social costs, as well as to look for feasible paths to promote a notion of development that fosters both economic efficiency and welfare distribution, and considers decent work as the key objective of every policy based on social justice and democratic participation. The ratio of my IUC final thesis “Labour is not a commodity: an argument from (labour) law and economics” is to make my contribution to such debate.
After taking the Italian Bar Exam last December, I continued to work for the ILO Programme of Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV) of the ILO, assisting the activity managers during the organizing, implementing and following up of training activities in Turin, in the management of Distance Learning activities, in the development of regional trade unions networks, in the research and development of training material for unions related to decent work promotion."
Mounkoro, Yacouba Sabere
"When you get the chance to be taught by eminent professors like Ugo Mattei, Guido Calabresi, Duncan Kennedy, and Tom Herz, you cannot just expect, you also discover yourself giving and even more: contributing to a process which is going to constitute a solution to the mainstream theory. IUC enriched me with an ever international environment in which global problems are given local solutions from different local cultures, continent, countries, perspectives and backgrounds: this is the International University College of Turin.
Not only that, IUC gave me the chance to go even further my ambitions by financing a one year study and research project in Lanzhou University, China where I found myself in a completely multicultural dimension of knowledge. I studied the issues of Law and Finance in China under the supervision of Doctor Guanghua Liu (the associate dean of the school of law of Lanzhou university) who, in collaboration with my colleagues Ma Siwen, Feng Yen, Zeng Lei and Yang Cuying, helped me in understanding the Chinese culture and analyzing to what extent the two continents (China and Africa) can benefit each other while talking about cooperation and exchanges since my final thesis’ topic is entitled “development without losing sovereignty”, in the light of the existing relationship with the West, we experienced many theories and perspectives so as to know whether these could serve Africa or vice versa. Without any doubt, going to China has been, and I am sure, will remain one of the greatest experiences of my life, thanks to the International University College of Turin.
IUC does not limit itself as an educational institution, but also for a leading center which follows step by step its alumni even after their studies so as to be able to experience the outcomes at a local level; I got the opportunity to engage in a four years contract with the International Lions Club Roma which consists of two years of specialization in International Relations at the very prestigious LUISS Carli Guido University in Rome and other two years of Managerial position in a rural and professional campus in Mali. "
Ibrahim Shikaki, MSc CLEF 2010
"I believe it is crucial we as IUC students understand what makes it unlike any other. While we do attend classes, write papers, take exams, and attend seminars and lectures, its goal is larger than classroom education. IUC targeted students from the global south for a reason, to show us how similar our battles are, whether they are manifested in resisting a racist colonial occupation or a tyranny, and fighting for human rights or fighting against external interference in national policies (whether it be from governments, multinational corporations or international financial institutions). It teaches us to learn from each other, to stand and fight for what we believe, and DO something about it. My greatest wish is that we all LEARN something from the IUC and DO something for it.
I have returned to my home in Palestine and I am currently an associate researcher at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) , at the same time I am working with several youth movement’s fighting against normalization and resisting alternative narratives imposed by the occupation and the authorities in Palestine."
Simo, Regis Yann
"Born in Douala, Cameroon, I received a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) from the University of Buea (Cameroon) in 2005. After completing an eight-month internship with a Law Firm specialised in Intellectual Property in Yaoundé, I went to the University of Yaoundé II Soa (Cameroon) where I obtained a “Maitrise en Droit” in Business Law in 2007 before being awarded the full scholarship to join the inaugural class of the Master of Science in Comparative Law, Economics and Finance at the International University College of Turin (IUC) in the fall of 2008.
While in Turin where I had the chance to come to the meeting of cultures and differences around the same global problems, notably the recent financial crisis and its consequences, my passion for international law issues, especially its economic and development aspects, guided my choice for second-year study abroad plans. I started a Master of Laws in Cross-Cultural Business Practice (LL.M.) at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), an IUC partner institution, benefiting from an IUC grant. I graduated my LLM in magna cum laude with a thesis on Regionalism and International Services Trade Liberalisation in the Central African Trade Bloc and I obtained a six-month internship contract at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva and had many opportunities to further my understanding of forces shaping global governance in trade matters, with the ultimate dream to come up with innovative solutions for a well-conducted regional integration in Africa.
I consider that individual countries are better placed to devise their development paths because needs are not always universal, but without necessarily shielding themselves from what is happening at other places (mindful of globalisation). I graduated MSc. CLEF at the International University College of Turin with a thesis on challenges facing the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) in this era of “new law and development” initiatives. I eventually hope to bring new ideas back home in order to contribute in his way to building Africa."
Wu, Jin
"I left Turin in July 2009 and began my exchange life in UC Hastings for one semester. I have chosen corporation related courses and studied with J.D students together. Life in Hastings was busy and happy. I have made a lot of friends all over the world and collected new ideas and views about China and the world. After I have came back to China and currently stay in Shanghai. Like other metropolis in the world, Shanghai is an international city with a very fast life pace. I have passed Chinese bar examination in 2010 and I am currently working in a consulting company. My overseas background helps me a lot during the job interview. Thanks to IUC’s comparative and critical methodology that I can stand out of box and think of the problems with a wider and higher level. I love my work and really enjoy my life in Shanghai. Of course, I also miss my IUC friends and miss Turin !!!"
Yakubu, Abdulai
"Currently, I am enrolled in a Master of Science (MSc) programme in International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management in the Department of Management of the London School of Economics. Though a world class institution of higher learning with all the facilities, I still seriously missed the IUC debate and real life approach to teaching and learning which is completely absent here. I truly owe all these astonishing experience to the IUC. Sometimes, it appears to me that thank you is such a very simple thing to say, but that is what conveys my inner most feelings. I am genuinely and deeply grateful for the wonderful opportunity that I had at the IUC which has opened many doors for me. "
Please go to the page of Class of MSc 2010 for the Alumni list.