‘IKEA manual for law students’ wins start-up competition
Claudia Ghannam, founder of The Little Law Student. (Image: Tilly Graovac)
An innovative start-up idea designed to make studying easier and more visually appealing has been given a €500 boost, winning a legal entrepreneurship competition run by the Amsterdam Law Hub.
The Little Law Student - a study guide featuring cartoons, visual cues, QR codes and games - is the brainchild of 23-year-old Claudia Ghannam, who is studying a master’s degree in International Public and European Law at the University of Amsterdam.
“It’s amazing, I’m so excited. It’s really unexpected,” Claudia said of her win.
“This is going to help me obtain the legal design skills I need to actually make the product.”
Claudia was inspired to create the guide after learning that on average, more than half of students who undertake law in the Netherlands don’t make it to graduation. She saw the multitude of text-based learning materials and resources as a barrier to students’ ability to learn and retain information.
A sample from Claudia Ghannam’s presentation on The Little Law Student. (Image supplied by Claudia Ghannam).
“I have always enjoyed studying in creative ways: drawing things out, making flashcards, colour coding my notes or making posters,” she explained.
“I received a lot of good feedback on these notes and this encouraged me to design something that would help students understand the materials better and enjoy studying.”
The Little Law Student is designed to be used in conjunction with reading material as a way to help students who may be predominantly visual learners, or who may need another way to help decipher cases and content.
Complex legal cases would be shown in cartoon format, while QR codes would take students to online games and allow them to test their knowledge. Cartoonist Tom van Wanrooy from The Cartoon Factory designed the guide’s cover art and legal cartoons.
Claudia praised the six other groups who developed ideas to address a range of legal and social injustice issues. Pitches included rent assistance for international students, an insolvency toolkit, a chatbot for sexual assault survivors and an online flow chart to help tenants with defects in their home.
“All of the ideas were amazing and people had come up with solutions to complex and real issues,” she said.
Members of the jury with Amsterdam Law Hub director, Nathalie Dijkman (right). (Image: Tilly Graovac)
The judging panel - made up of Pablo van Klinken, Jelle van Veenen, Jacomine Kuijt and Victor Bey-Smith - said they were impressed by the impact The Little Law Student could have on first-year law students, and by Claudia’s comprehensive pitch.
They noted her biggest challenge would be scaling up, given The Little Law Student is a physical product for a relatively niche customer.
Her ideas for monetising the product were to license it for authors to use in their literature, and to have a separate book purchased by students.
Claudia endeavours to have the first edition published by August 2023.
The jury awarded the second place prize to Tenet - a flowchart and advice service for renters looking to fix defects or issues in their homes.
The third prize was given to Just In Case - a social enterprise designed to help students from CAS islands (Curacao, Aruba and St. Maartin) reduce their student debts by assisting them in applying for financial help which is often overlooked or not known about.
Interesting in collaborating with Amsterdam Law Hub? Could your business or organisation work with talented students? Or are you a law student looking to take part in a start-up challenge? Get in touch.