Nguyen Tuan Kiet (K17502) & Phan Thi Thuy Trang (K17502C)
Students of University of Economics and Law, HCMC National University
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is a success” (Henry Ford). Team spirit moving forward is one of the great strengths to make a success. This is the lesson we learned from the conversation with the team winning the first prize of UEL Moot Court Competition 2017 (UEL MCC 2017). Please listen to the sincere and helpful sharing of all members of the team!
Good morning, ladies.
Congratulations to your team on winning the first prize of UEL MCC 2017! It is certain that you have many thoughts and feelings to share with everyone after the competition. So how does your team feel after becoming champion?
Ms. Lan shared: “After becoming champion of UEL MCC 2017, the first thing I want to do is send my warmest thanks to the Legal Research & Advisory Club (LRAC) and the Faculty of Law’s Youth Union who jointly organized the competition for us and for all UEL students to broaden our mind. I also want to express my deep gratitude to my teammates who were always by my side and encouraged me to keep moving forward all the time. Being champion, we feel extremely cheerful and happy. Everything happened just like a dream. Before the final round, we did not think that our team would be champion because we are the only second-year students who do not have any experience pảticipating in competitions. However, our team 04 actually won the first prize. It was beyond our expectations.”
Why did your team decide to take part in UEL MCC 2017? What did you learn when participating in the competition?
Ms. Nguyen: “At first our goal was only to be more confident and gain more knowledge from other teams who not only excel in academic knowledge but also speak fluent English. My team wasn’t pressured by the competition, on the contrary, we were very excited and comfortable during the process of the competition. We tried our best because the UEL MCC 2017 was a good chance to gain experience and challenge ourselves. That is the reason why we decided to participate in the competition.”
Ms. Nguyen also said: “After the competition, I think we should improve some important soft skills and also keep calmer when facing problems. Moreover, we also need to enhance academic knowledge as well as English fluency. It’s hearty to say that UEL MCC 2017 was a really good chance for us not only to gain experience in writing Memorandum but also debating in Oral Hearings, which were necessary in improving and developing helpful skills in the future. Additionally, members of my team had a great time, with beautiful memories throughout the competition. I think that is the most important thing for us in this competition.”
Did your team have any memorable memories during the competition to share with us?
Ms. Nhung: “The time when we established the group and practiced together was such a beautiful period in my student life at UEL. For someone else, his/her memorable memories may be more significant events; But for me, the time I was with my friends working and practicing together to prepare for the competition was special and sweet enough for a busy student like me. After the competition, we understand each other very well. So now, we are close friends and good teammates.”
In the competition, which round does your team think to be the most successful as well as the most difficult one?
Ms. Thy shared: “I think it was really hard to make the comparison between these rounds. Each round had its own difficulties because this was the first time that UEL MCC was held, especially for writing the memorandum, we had to learn how to write it as well as find out the main key to the moot problem. Everything was so unfamiliar to us. We had to try a lot to overcome difficulties.
In the competition, I think the final round was maybe the most successful and satisfied part. After the semi-final round, we had learned many useful things and received a lot of advice from the arbitral tribunal. Thanks to those advice, we won “ourselves” in the final. Winning ourselves is the best success. We deserve this success because of our effort.”.
Did your team ever get into trouble or have difficult problems during the competition? If yes, by what means did your team overcome them?
Ms. Nhung shared that their team absolutely had met a lot of problems when participating in the competition. At first, they were worried as they didn’t have much academic knowledge as well as soft skills. But afterward, all members share the same thought that they participated in the competition to learn more knowledge and gain experience so they tried their best to overcome difficulties. For instance, they didn’t know how to write a memorandum so the only way was to search, research and learn. Besides that, they were well-prepared with the memorandum and practiced many times over. Therefore, they felt a bit more confident to show their presentation directly to arbitrators.
Your team was very excellent to have a good Oral Hearing round with confident English speaking skill and fluency in the competition. So would you mind sharing with all the students some useful and effective learning English tips?
From her own experience, Ms. Lan shared that: In fact, she is not really good at English but she can give some advice about learning English for other students not confident in their English. For her, she self-taught English. For example, she often learns English by listening to English music on TV or via videos on the Internet. Sometimes, she chats with foreigners to practice speaking skills. Moreover, she and her roommates usually speak English like a way to learn and relax. In her opinion, the key to master your English is studious and learn it with all your heart. Keeping moving forward and never giving up.
I’d very appreciate it if your team could share your feedback with us to improve UEL MCC 2018?
Ms. Thy: “Honestly, UEL MCC 2017 is a good chance for every student who enjoys learning Law to experience, challenge and learn. For me, I felt that your organization was good. I was very impressed that lots of UEL students were interested in the competition. However, in my opinion, it could be more successful if organizers had used more media and equipment in the final round. They would not help only the participants but also the audience understand and interact with each other. Because the competition is in total English, some viewers who are not good at English can’t understand what the participants were saying. It’s necessary to give each audience the case materials to follow the content of the dispute. I know that there were other limits and this was also the first time LRAC and the Faculty of Law’s Youth Union have held the UEL MCC 2017 so, in general, the competition was very impressive and successful. We hope that UEL MCC 2018 will be more professional and successful ”.
Could your team give advice on your experience in the UEL MCC 2017 for students who intend to participate in the competition next year, please?
Ms. Thy has given advice for students who intend to participate in UEL MCC 2018: “Firstly, team spirit is actually the most important key. Your team should be united, unanimous and try your best for what you want to achieve later instead of focusing on the results. Secondly, you need to control your feeling and keep calm when facing any trouble and present your preparation in front of the arbitrators. Be yourselves and perform just like what you had prepared before. Lastly, your outfit will play an important role. A formal one will help you feel more professional, confident and also create a good first impression to other people. I hope my advice from our experience can help you to be well-prepared for UEL MCC 2018”.
Finally, would your team kindly share with us your plan in the future?
Ms. Nguyen: “I want to challenge myself with an International Humanitarian Law (IHL) competition next time. Moreover, I have been making a great effort to improve and master my English and my expertise to attend other competitions. We hope a new year with renewed spirit and new skills will make this year a successful year”.
Thank you so much for the interview! We hope your team will always keep beautiful memories regarding UEL MCC 2017 and succeed in not only your learning but also your life with your passion and enthusiasm.