2017-2018 Young ICCA Mentoring Cycle Underway

Young ICCA is pleased to announce the start of the fourth cycle of its flagship Mentoring Progamme. A rigorous selection process conducted by Young ICCA Mentoring Programme Coordinators Maria Athanasiou and David Kim, under the guidance of Young ICCA co-chairs, identified 56 successful candidates for the 2017-2018 Young ICCA Mentoring Programme Cycle.

“We would like to thank everyone who applied for this year’s Mentoring Programme. This year’s Programme drew enormous interest, with over 300 applications received from all corners of the globe and all walks of life,” reported Ms Athanasiou and Mr Kim. The applicants represented 72 different nationalities, ranged between the ages of 20 and 40 years old, and comprised 50% women and 50% men.

The decision to stagger Mentoring Programme cycles, allowing for a two-year cycle of the Programme to begin annually instead of biennially, meant that fewer candidates were selected than in previous cycles. While this meant that many deserving candidates were excluded from this cycle, the long term effect of this decision will be that more applications can be accepted when there are two, overlapping Mentoring Programme Cycles. “After much deliberation, 56 applicants were chosen from 56 nationalities,” said the Mentoring Programme Coordinators.

The Young ICCA Mentoring Programme is geared towards promoting the use of arbitration by exposing new practitioners from all corners of the globe to international practice. It was with this in mind that the Mentoring Programme Coordinators made their selection: “The following criteria were used in evaluating each application: gender diversity; region; nationality; countries not strongly represented in international arbitration; possession of the necessary knowledge and training in international arbitration that indicates a true interest and desire to enter the field; availability of fewer opportunities, relative to other applicants from prosperous nations, who could greatly benefit from the programme; and in limited occasions applicants who already possess junior positions in international arbitration groups were sometimes selected for the benefit of their co-mentees.”

Applicants whose applications were not accepted for this cycle may, and are encouraged to, apply for the next cycle beginning in January 2018.

This cycle of the Young ICCA Mentoring Programme will run until December 2018. A complete list of the Mentees can be found at the link below. For more information on the selection process of this cycle of the Mentoring Programme, please click here.