On 16 February 2021, 27 students accompanied by Isabelle Bufflier, SKEMA’s chief academic officer for the Business Law double degree in partnership with ULCO (Université du Littoral et de la Côte d’Opale), and Cédric Grolleau, lobbyist lawyer in Brussels and a partner of the course, started the day with a speech by the European Commission on the “Digital Services Act”, currently presented and overseen by Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market. The goal of the Act is to create a European digital space in which the fundamental rights of all digital services users are protected, and to establish fair conditions of competition both in the single European market and all across the world. The morning continued with a speech on the important subject of State aid by the Directorate General for Competition.
At 12:15pm,
Jean-Marie Cavada, member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2019, and former CEO of Radio France, was the guest of the Business Law master’s and the Pourparlers student association, for a conference and discussion broadcast on Facebook Live; this was unmissable as it fit perfectly into the day’s theme. Jean-Marie Cavada looked back over his 15-year term in Brussels and on the recent creation of the
Institute for Digital Fundamental Rights of which he is chairman. There was a rich discussion with the students, with many questions, and Jean-Marie Cavada invited SKEMA students to join up for a symbolic €1. “
We need your energy and creativity,” he said.
The afternoon was devoted to discussions with the administrative staff of the Council of the European Union, and also with a representative of the
European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), which is a federation of 43 consumer organisations from 31 European countries. Along with French UFC Que Choisir consumer association, the BEUC has just launched an action against TikTok with regard to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The federation undertakes recurrent lobbying efforts within the European institutions to defend consumers.
The M2 Management and Business Law master’s students organise several online conferences with legal professionals over the academic year. These conferences are now open to all SKEMA students, employees, and alumni.
– The challenges of digital justice, with Maître Doitrand, SKEMA alumni and lawyer specialised in corporate law (3 March 2021, 6pm to 8pm)
– Legal actions by charities against multinationals, with Laura Bourgeois, legal expert at SHERPA (NGO), specialised in the respect of human rights by multinationals (11 March 2021, 6pm to 8pm)
– Third-party control by the company: ‘What risks and what obligations in compliance?’, by Maître Maria Lancri, lawyer from the Squairlaw firm, a partner of the Business Law master’s (16 March 2021, 6pm to 8pm).
“The students are stakeholders in these pedagogicalconferences, which enables them to showcase their acquired skills on current topics. It’s a great success. In the first semester, the professionals have often been impressed by the quality of our students’ contributions and have offered them internships immediately afterwards. SKEMA students in other programmes or courses, alumni, and also employees and faculty: if the topics interest you, feel free to register,” says Isabelle Bufflier, SKEMA’s chief academic officer for the double degree in Business Law in partnership with ULCO (Université du Littoral et de la Côte d’Opale).