Opportunities for Students
The Lord Browne Essay Prize
The Lord Browne Energy & Climate Change Law Essay Prize is awarded for the best three energy dissertations submitted each year and aims to celebrate our academic excellence and innovative thinking.
The prize bears the name of our first Energy & Climate Change Law Annual Lecturer, the distinguished businessman, engineer and scientist, Lord Browne, who has kindly lent his name and support to the Prize.
Internship
The Institute coordinates internships for our students. Depending on the operating environment, internships are usually undertaken towards the end of the academic year and range from short to longer term.
The Energy & Climate Change Law itself takes 2-4 interns each year to assist the Institute with its work including organising events, conducting research and writing articles.
Mentoring
CCLS has a mentoring scheme under which leading practitioners based in London, such as judges, partners and senior assistants in law firms and senior in-house counsel, provide one to one guidance to designated students. The mentor is a source of guidance and advice on all manner of professional matters, including career decisions. The mentoring scheme provides a unique opportunity for our students to tap into the knowledge and experience available in the London legal scene and to network. Great effort is made to link mentees with mentors who are appropriate to the relevant student. The pool of mentees is well served with mentors from the energy sector.
Teaching and learning
The Institute is dedicated to preparing our students for the future and their future careers. We actively seek to provide our students with the opportunity to participate in the activities of the Institute including research, supporting teaching assistants, writing articles and preparing students for roles in academia and the energy sector.
Student Newsletter
Each year our students publish a newsletter. The students choose the subjects to write about and appoint the Guest Editor.
Our Visit to the Offshore Wind Farm near Brighton – May 2024
In May 2024, we had the chance to visit an offshore wind farm off the coast of Brighton. Our trip began in the morning when we took a boat with a local skipper from Brighton Harbour. From the start, the wild and open feel of the North Sea made the experience exciting, and the sense of adventure grew as we got closer to the wind farm. The boat was exclusively for our group, which made the trip feel special and professional. It was amazing to see the huge wind turbines in the middle of the sea, especially knowing these are the kinds of projects we’ll work on in the future.
The skipper guided us through the farm, explaining how the turbines work and their impressive size. We reached the offshore substation, where all the cables meet to send electricity back to the coast. This is the critical point where all the cables converge to transmit electricity to the coast via the main cable. Witnessing this in practice was a valuable experience, offering insights that will undoubtedly be helpful when analyzing legal documentation for similar projects. The trip was not only educational but also great fun. The unpredictable weather that day added an adventurous edge to the experience. Despite the challenges, we captured extraordinary photos and left with a deeper appreciation for the complexity and innovation behind offshore wind farms. For those planning a visit, a sunny day in May/June might provide an even better opportunity to explore Brighton itself, making it a perfect combination of adventure and leisure.