Life at the Centre
Would a course at the centre be the right decision for you? You may find these accounts by three international postgraduates of their time at the Centre to be useful as you weigh up your options.
HRH Chief Bonanjah Richard Kings
"I pursued my MA in Legislative Studies at the Centre to build my career in parliamentary and public affairs , but I also learnt a great deal about legislatures and my own approach to work. Beforehand I had served in the office of three Presidents of the National Assembly of Cameroon. My training at the Centre has made me a valuable asset of the Assembly which was in need of specialised staff to meet the challenges of its expanding legislative process since the creation of the Senate and Regional Assemblies.
"Even at far away Hull, I was able to provide informed advice on legislative matters back home. I recently established a Centre for Legislative Research in Yaounde, an innovation in legislative development in Cameroon. This is thanks to the insight I aquired at the Centre and the supervision of Lord Norton, whose commitment to student guidance and whose academic sophistication I took advantage of and admired enormously. I made useful contacts with public officials and parliamentary staff which only the Centre could offer - and I encourage other parliaments, particularly in the developing world, to have their staff trained by a team of dedicated and committed staff."
Cristina Leston-Bandeira
"The field of Legislative Studies is not well developed in Portugal. After finishing my degree in Lisbon, I therefore decided to pursue my doctoral education further overseas. I looked into many Universities in the UK and decided the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull was by far the best option for my PhD.
"At Hull I have successfully developed my research on the Portuguese Parliament. The library is highly competent on legislative issues and there are plenty of opportunities to discuss the subject with other participants in Centre activities. This provides a valuable comparative perspective on one's own institutions. I have had the opportunity to present workshops about my subject and to publish in the Hull Research Paper series of the Centre.
"Coming from a lively city, I was afraid I would dislike living in Hull, but it has proved quite the opposite. The people are very friendly, and there is plenty to do here. The area of East Yorkshire is beautiful, with both York and Beverley as very attractive nearby places to visit. In fact, living and studying in Hull has proved such a good experience that I have managed to marry here as well as have three children - I am now a full-time member of the staff at the Centre as Lecturer in Legislative Studies."
José Rivera-Sanchez
"The Centre provides a friendly international atmosphere for research, offering the chance to interact with parliamentary scholars and postgraduate students from four continents. My own experience is that this international context enriches the intellectual development of students and gives them the opportunity to share their findings.
"The student members of the Centre also participate in a wide range of seminars and workshops in which visiting scholars and research students discuss the main trends in the discipline and analyse specific case-studies. This promotes liaison among all the postgraduate students involved in research in legislative studies. I have had the chance to enrich my research on the legislative committees of the Mexican Congress thanks to the comments of other members of the Centre.
"Besides that, the University of Hull has many other advantages. A recently-built and well-equipped Graduate Research Institute with modern facilities offers training in research skills and interdiciplinary interaction with other postgraduates. One of the leading research groups in legislative studies, the Centre is committed to a research culture and gives special attention to the development of legislatures in the context of their respective polities."
Contact
For more details on any course offered at the Centre, or for a copy of Hull's Politics Prospectus, please select the correct option on the Contact page above.