MILE Alumni Profiles: Olga Nartova

Olga Nartova, a Russian lawyer and graduate of MILE 4, returned to the World Trade Institute as a research fellow in 2007 working on trade and climate change within the NCCR Trade Regulation after completing her doctorate. From the WTI she moved on to Dar Al-Hekma University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she is a professor and chair of the law department.

You have had a long relationship with the WTI. When did it all begin?
It all began in 2003 when I joined the MILE 4 programme. I already had a bachelor of laws and a BSc in economics. So it made perfect sense to me to join an interdisciplinary master’s with an applied focus.

What has the MILE programme meant to you professionally?
MILE opened for me the world of WTO, which I was not familiar with. MILE also introduced me to mooting, and I had great fun competing in the MILE moot at the end of the programme. I graduated summa cum laude and immediately started a PhD at the University of Bern, exploring WTO laws further. Now I am a law programme director in a university, an assistant professor teaching international trade courses, a moot court panellist, and a researcher in the field of WTO and climate change. 

MILE introduced me to what became my life passion and taught me skills that served as a springboard for my career. The decision to join MILE was truly a turning point in my life!

What aspects did you benefit most from?
I benefited from every single day spent at the WTI. First, it was an amazing learning experience to be able to engage in discussions with the best experts in the field, such as professors Cottier, Bourgeois, Mavroidis, Howse and Horlick, to name but a few. 
Second, the high quality and intense programme of study with a few hundred pages of reading every single week and the famous Friday's exams allowed me to hone my time management skills as well as to build up my psychological resilience. 

Third, the close relationship between MILE students and in-house researchers, even such a small thing as the croissants that we used to have all together on Tuesdays, allowed for less formal interaction, which helped me to develop the research interests which I still have.

For several years you were a research fellow and leader of the trade and climate work package of the NCCR trade regulation. Are you still involved in climate change research?
Yes, it is still my passion and professional interest, I follow closely the research of my former colleagues from NCCR.