When you were at the EUI, what was your research on?
My research was about the relationship between EU rights and remedies, which I looked at through the lens of public procurement and damages claims for violations of EU law. The topic raises interesting questions about the intrinsic link between substantive and procedural justice in the context of the multi-level legal nature of the EU.
How was your relationship with your supervisor?
My relationship with my supervisor was above all characterized by mutual trust. After reading my first paper, I believe that he trusted that I would be able to write my PhD thesis as I had envisaged, and on my side, I always knew that he was following my academic and intellectual developments and guided it with his very valuable advice.
What is your fondest memory from your time at the EUI?
There are truly many fond memories that I think everybody that was here takes home and looks back at over life. One of the fondest memories I have is even from before I started at the EUI. It is from the interview. I sat in the garden of villa Schifanoia, and I realised that if I don't get this position, I will be very, very sad about this missed opportunity because I understood this place is truly special.
How do you think the EUI has shaped you professionally?
Really in enormous ways because it has shaped me as an intellectual. I wouldn't be who I am if I had not gone here. I do EU law and it's grounded in national jurisdiction. By coming here, this exposure to the plurality of jurisdictions for an EU lawyer, I find this really an indispensable part of a good education in EU law.
Beyond the PhD programme, the EUI opens for events, for fellowships, for visiting positions. The exchange is in my view, fundamental to who I am as a professional person in EU law.
How has the network that you discovered at the EUI helped you?
The network at the EUI, I think it happens at different levels. At one point it really happens because it happens to you. When you meet other people that share this experience here, you really connect in identity.
Beyond that, of course, in EU law, the discipline is constituted by an important part also by people from the EUI. Somehow the network really shapes the discipline, and you're deeply embedded into the network structures of the profession both in terms of the academic side of it and the institutions as well.
The network is very structural, and you're very well connected to it when you leave the EUI.
If you had to describe your EUI experience in three words, what would they be?
Magnificent, a privilege and a sense of responsibility to take this further, what we experience here.
What advice would you give to current and future researchers at the EUI?
My advice would be to make the most of the opportunities that the EUI offers. The number of seminars, workshops and conferences can sometimes feel overwhelming, and there can be a sense that one should always be engaged intellectually. It is equally important to enjoy life beyond the EUI and to find a balance that works for you. That said, looking back, I feel that the opportunities for intellectual growth and exploration during a funded doctoral programme at the EUI are an extraordinary privilege, and not likely to be the same later in your academic career.
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The EUI Alumni Testimonials series offers a glimpse into the diverse paths and experiences of our alumni. Through their stories, we revisit meaningful moments from their time at the EUI and discover how these experiences continue to shape their personal and professional journeys.
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Disclaimer: All information reported in this article reflects solely the perspective of EUI alumni and former EUI members. In no case does this article represent the view of the organisations the interviewees are affiliated with.