Koen Swinnen, Associate Professor of Property and Insolvency Law at Erasmus School of Law, is appointed as a member of Young Erasmus Academy, an exclusive network of talented young researchers at Erasmus University Rotterdam, analogous to the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Swinnen's appointment is for a period of five years.
The aim of the Young Erasmus Academy is to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between young, excellent scientists. In addition, Young Erasmus Academy advises the Executive Board on policy matters and the aim of Young Erasmus Academy is to contribute to strengthening the university's profile in the public domain.
‘A resourceful scientist’
Dr Swinnen has been working for Erasmus School of Law since 2015, and since September of last year as an associate professor in the Civil Law section. He is also Vice Director of Erasmus Graduate School of Law (EGSL). Dean Suzan Stoter is convinced that colleague Swinnen will make an inspiring contribution to Young Erasmus Academy: ‘Koen is a talented and resourceful scientist who is working hard in research, education and management and is keen to contribute to the university community.’
Legal vacuum around data ownership
One of Koen Swinnen's interests and areas of expertise is digitisation, both in law and in education. He says about this: ‘As a member of Young Erasmus Academy, I can give a special impulse to this profiling theme of the university.’ In recent publications and lectures on data ownership, Swinnen advocates to work closely with IT specialists: ‘Both socially and economically, the question of who owns data is very important.’ According to him, data currently find themselves in a legal vacuum, which creates unclarity: ‘What can someone do with the data in his possession? Can data be seized by a creditor and can they be used as collateral with the bank to obtain financing, much like a house is mortgaged to the bank? These and other questions cannot be answered as long as there is no clarity about data ownership.’
Development of online Tech Legal Module
Recently, Dr Koen Swinnen acquired a CLI Fellowship for a project that aims at implementing Legal Tech in EGSL’s legal skills education. During the Fellowship, an initiative of Community for Learning & Innovation, he will develop an entirely new online Tech Legal Module for the first year of the bachelor's degree in Law. The goal of this module is to make first-year bachelor students aware of the impact that digitisation has on the legal profession and the challenges that accompany it.
- Associate professor
- More information
For more information, please contact Ronald de Groot, Communications Officer at Erasmus School of Law: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl and mobile: 06 53 641 846.
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