The University of Luxembourg’s Legal Clinic, led by Consumer Law professor, Élise Poillot, will be taking part in a research project on data protection called LeADS.
This project will receive funding through the Horizon 2020 innovation and research programme, and more specifically the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network, whose objective is to “to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit.” (European Commission Decision C(2019)4575 of 2 July 2019)
The project is led by Principal Investigator Prof. G. Comandé from the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant’Anna in Pisa, Italy and aims to train a new kind of interdisciplinary professional figure, the ‘Legally Attentive Data Scientist’ or LeADS, who is an expert in both data science and law and works across these two disciplines, combining scientific skills with the ethical-legal constraints of their operating environment. This professional will be capable of developing data science which is capable of innovation while remaining within the border of the law, and conversely, helping expand legal frontiers in line with the needs of innovation.
Through a broad, interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral network of academic and non-academic partners, LeADS provides a cross-disciplinary training to early state researchers who will ultimately work as data scientists or researchers in general, sales managers, project or general managers at private entities (tech companies, consultancies and legal advisories) and public entities (research centres, universities and administration). LeADS research and training aims at reshaping the regulatory and business approach to information while training the experts and decision makers to promote and pilot the processes that every data-driven society needs to establish.
In the context of this comprehensive and ambitious project, the Legal Clinic will serve as a study case in order to identify the best practices for assuring data protection of the documents processed by legal clinics and sensitise students who will soon be practicing law as to the importance of data protection. This will be done together Dr Gabriele Lenzini, Associate Professor at the SnT (Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust). The clinic will also offer a unique use case to address inter- and cross-disciplinary issues in law.
“I am looking forward to being part of the project,” said Prof. Poillot, “the involvement of our Consumer Legal Clinic in such a far-reaching and prestigious endeavour confirms our position as a leader among law clinics in Europe.”
To learn more about the University of Luxembourg’s Legal Clinic and its activities, please visit their website.
