Leiden, June 30th, 2010

The Younger Academic Network on Comparative and International Insolvency Law and Finance (YAN) is a branch of the Academic Forum of INSOL Europe. The Academic Forum was founded in 2004 and is a constituent body of INSOL Europe, a Europe-wide association of practitioners in insolvency, with over thousand members and member associations. YAN’s primary mission is to engage in the representation of younger academics or PhD fellows who are in the beginning of their research resulting in a doctoral thesis or a postdoctoral research in the area of Comparative and International Insolvency Legal and Financial issues. 

YAN acts as a (virtual) network of a group of academics who are working on their doctoral thesis or on a research project and can exchange and share information, specific sources, possible opportunities for teaching or research abroad or apply for financial support for books or a grant to organise an event, etc. YAN started mid 2009 and presently has 14 participants from 8 jurisdictions. 

Furthermore, YAN aims to overcome the limitations younger academics may feel by working in their home country with possibly only one or two colleagues understanding what the doctoral study is about. By participation in the network younger academics will benefit from the wider body of researchers and their supervisors (professors) to further the development of their study and therefore also have to the benefit of a better understanding and application of the matters in the subject area of international insolvency law and finance. A mentoring committee will be created for YAN members who submitted their doctoral thesis for a maximum of 5 years after their oral submission.

YAN-members are interested in insolvency research, strive to encourage and assist in the development of research initiatives in the insolvency field and will actively participate in the activities organised by INSOL Europe. YAN strives to meet annually either in conjunction with the main conference of INSOL Europe or at other conferences around suitable themes of interest to the practice and academic communities, for instance when one of its participants defends its research. 

At the INSOL Europe Academic Conference in Milan (31 March-1 April 2011), Professor Bob Wessels, Professor in International Insolvency Law at Leiden University, Professor Stefania Bariatti, Chair of the Academic Forum, together with Myriam Mailly of the University of Lille 2 and Anthon Verweij LL.M. of the Center for Business Studies of Leiden University, will officially launch the Younger Academic Network on Comparative and International Insolvency Law and Finance. In a near future, a Supervisory Board shall also be established as a consultative board for the younger academics and their projects. Senior insolvency academics and practitioners will be invited to fulfil that role.

Details of YAN will be posted at the Academic Forum website: http://www.insol-europe.org/academic/yan as and when available.

Further information about the work of YAN can be obtained via the Academic Forum website or via e-mail at: mailly.myriam@orange.fr or a.m.verweij@law.leidenuniv.nl.