Information Technology Law LLM: final thoughts
Time flew so fast that it doesn't even feel like one year has passed since I started my LLM journey and, in parallel, this blog. When I began, online learning was consolidated, but nobody could have imagined that it would become a rule due to a pandemic. And because the University of Edinburgh already has many years of online teaching experience, my academic calendar was not affected, only postponed for a few weeks.
And now, I must share some final thoughts with you.
1) Choose a concentration that you like to study for your LLM. It will be more pleasant if you do so. 2) Enjoy your time. It will be demanding, you will have to read and write a lot, but it will be fun and it will be over fast. And you will miss it. 3) Plan your time wisely. Establish priorities. Keep your planning. 4) Be curious. Ask questions. Study beyond the essential reading. 5) If you are looking for professional opportunities, make contacts, interact with your peers, establish connections, invest time in networking. 6) If you are looking for academic opportunities or want to pursue a Ph.D. in the future, look for "call for papers", conferences, and research opportunities. Establish academic connections.
If you ask me if the Information Technology Law LLM is worth it, I believe it is. As I have posted before, I have studied the most interesting subjects in a relatively new area of the law. I would not be able to take those specific courses in Brazil. And even the one I thought would be the least interesting, Communications Law, ended up being one of the most fascinating. I loved all the courses that I took, and I love the knowledge I acquired. The professors are very experienced in their fields. I would do it all over again. If it interests you, read my previous posts on specific classes.
If one year ago we could say that online learning was not for everyone, now I have to say that everybody must adapt to online learning. I do believe that on-campus learning will be back gradually. Still, I also think that hybrid models will become more common, bringing new possibilities for students to take classes abroad or for universities to hire teachers worldwide. As a consequence, I believe the "new normal" will bring more competition to the market. For example, in Brazil, local universities will have to adapt and offer more quality and resources to students. Otherwise, students will do as I did and just take an online LLM at a world-class university from home. I don't even have to waste time in traffic! The weakest aspect of online learning is clearly the lack of networking resources, but I believe that universities will work on this problem.
When I started, I was looking for an online Ph.D., and I came across this LLM. Back there, I did not find an online Ph.D. that would suit me. I believe this is about to change. I think I will be able to find what I want for a Ph.D. faster than I imagined. I will start looking for it in a while.
Despite COVID, for me the last academic year was fun, it was enriching, and I would do it all over again.












