LLM student success in UN agency competition

Onyinye Nwezi, a 2008–9 LLM Computer and Communications student at Queen Mary, has won the 2009 ITU Cybersecurity and ICT Applications Essay Competition.

Her prize was a paid three-month internship in Geneva at the UN agency for telecoms from January to March.

The aim of the competition was to increase awareness of cyber security and the potential of ICT Applications, and give young people, especially from developing countries, exposure to main issues related to these topics and to ITU's ongoing work in this area.

Onyinye commented on her winning essay, entitled ‘Personal information online/telephone/internet: responding to user concerns':

‘I've always wanted to understand how telecommunication is regulated globally – and the relationship between telephone and the Internet. I thought that doing an internship with ITU would be a good way to gain practical experience. I was also auditing for topical issues in communications for my LLM dissertation. I decided that ITU, being the UN organ responsible for the regulation of standards and in communications, would have one or two projects to give me an insight on what to write on. So, when I saw the call for applicants to participate in the essay competition, I knew this would afford me the opportunity I was looking for.’

Onyinye, a qualified barrister and solicitor from Nigeria, will be returning to Queen Mary next year, to start her PhD. She hopes that knowledge gained through her UN internship will inspire her PhD research: ‘I am especially interested in how the ITU will respond to the legal issues involved in mobile money transfer. This is a new project that is being launched by most African countries now.’

Further details on the LLM in Computer and Communications Law.

For details on all 18 LLM Programmes available at the School of Law, please visit the QMUL website.

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