UCC Students Win Silver Award at International BRI Simulation Competition

13 Aug 2026

Four students from University College Cork (UCC) have won the Silver Award at the 5th Belt and Road Initiative Simulation Competition, held at the University of Reading on 10 August 2026.

The UCC team comprised Tatjana Farjadi (LLB), Kate Holohan (BCL Clinical), Finbarr Murphy (BCL Law and French), and Ionela Ohrim (LLM in Alternative Dispute Resolution). In addition to the team’s Silver Award, Tatjana Farjadi received the Law Advocacy Award in both the morning and afternoon rounds, while Finbarr Murphy received the Diplomacy Award in both rounds, recognising their outstanding performances in legal advocacy and diplomacy, respectively.

Jointly organised by the Foundation for Law and International Affairs (FLIA) and the University of Reading School of Law, this year’s competition brought together more than 50 students in eight teams from 13 universities across Ireland, the United Kingdom and China.

The competition centred on a simulated international investment project in Uganda. Students represented the Government of Uganda, Alibaba Group, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (WUSME), negotiating issues including investment, local employment, institutional cooperation and environmental sustainability.

Through bilateral and multilateral negotiations, participants were required to advance the interests of their respective stakeholders while responding to competing priorities and working towards practical, negotiated solutions. The competition is designed to provide students with an experiential and interdisciplinary learning environment in which they can develop skills in negotiation, communication, legal advocacy, problem-solving and international collaboration.

Speaking about the event, the team said:

'Our team is honoured to have participated in the 5th Belt and Road Initiative Simulation Competition. This was a wonderful, challenging and engaging experience for us to apply our academic knowledge to practical international legal dynamics, together with students across different cultures. We are incredibly grateful for the unique skill sets that each of our team members provided, which strengthened our strategy at this competition. We are honoured to receive team and individual awards, and are grateful for our teamwork and collaboration in receiving these recognitions. We learned invaluable skills in negotiation, legal analysis, diplomacy and intercultural collaboration, and we thank all coordinators and organisations that made it possible for us to participate.'

The achievement reflects an excellent performance by the UCC team and provides a further example of UCC students engaging in international and practice-oriented legal education.