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North Sea Energy Law Programme: next round part-time LLM for energy professionals

After two successful rounds, the North Sea Energy Law Programme will run again between September 2016 and 2018. This exclusive Master of Laws is organised by the universities of Groningen, Oslo, Aberdeen and Copenhagen.
22 February 2016
North Sea Energy Law Programme

Unique format

The four professors driving the programme recognized a gap in professional energy law education and that collaboration would allow them to create a unique programme which can deliver great value to its participants. The result is a dynamic two-year part-time masters exclusively created for existing energy law professionals which brings together the combined knowledge of not one, but four highly-ranked European universities. For the programme, the professors have cherry-picked the best expertise and specialist knowledge from each particular university.

The unique structure allows the participants to continue full-time employment and enables them to establish close relationships with fellow participants and with lecturers. By collaborating and sharing the knowledge and contacts of the universities, the advanced curriculum is designed to help the small group of participants gain a broader, deeper, more powerful vision of energy law which will give them greater focus. An alumnus from Denmark said: "it provided me with knowledge which made it easy to relate to clients which often work cross-border in this part of the world, and I gained through the program a knowledge which otherwise could only be achieved with great difficulty."

A high academic standard with a practical approach

A key component of the programme involves spending two weeks in each of the four universities. For the participants, it is a rare opportunity to gain valuable insights from (and to rub shoulders with) some of the world’s leading experts in energy law. These include a mix of both academics and practitioners providing intensive teaching sessions across the four campus sites for a combined eight weeks.

Next to the professors, the lecturers include their colleagues and practitioners from government, law firms and international organisations such as the European Commission, the Energy Charter Secretariat and the United Nations Environmental Programme. The professors regularly arrange for lectures to be hosted at external institutions. This allows participants to gain further knowledge and insight, as do the field trips. These have included visits to an offshore wind farm, an oil rig under construction, the renewable energy island Samsø, a drill simulator, an underground gas storage facility and a converter station.

A Norwegian alumnus of the programme said "the quality of the teaching was impressive, and it managed to combine a high academic standard with a practical approach which ensured that the learning was relevant for my work."

More information and application

It is possible to apply for the September 2016 to August 2018 round until 1 June 2016. In addition, applications for individual teaching blocks are also welcome.

  • Groningen: Electricity and Gas: Liberalising and Regulating the Market
  • Oslo: Upstream Oil and Gas: Public and Contractual Law Aspects
  • Aberdeen: Energy Investments, Trade and Security
  • Copenhagen: Green Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development

For more information please refer to www.nselp.eu or call
University of Groningen, Jaap Waverijn, +31503636037


This article was published by the Faculty of Law.

Last modified:19 January 2024 10.27 a.m.

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