What is the role of Student Ambassadors?

Selected ambassadors will:

  • Represent the Lawful by Design initiative on their campus or institution

  • Promote awareness of IHL and legal review obligations through events, workshops, and campaigns

  • Collaborate with Article 36 Legal and fellow ambassadors to share ideas, content, and best practices

  • Participate in virtual training and networking sessions with experts in law, ethics, and technology

  • Contribute to Article 36 Legal blog posts, LBD Live podcast interviews, or student-led outreach materials

  • Serve for a term of one academic year, with opportunities for renewal

Benefits to you

  • Recognition as a Lawful by Design Student Ambassador

  • Access to expert mentoring and interdisciplinary training

  • Certificate of participation and LinkedIn endorsement

  • Opportunity to contribute to real-world policy and education initiatives

  • Priority consideration for internships, project collaborations, and future roles with Article 36 Legal

Lawful by Design Student Ambassador Scheme

The Lawful by Design Student Ambassador Scheme is an initiative by Article 36 Legal to promote awareness of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the legal review of weapons under Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, particularly among the next generation of researchers, engineers, and innovators.

As AI, autonomy, robotics, and emerging military technologies become increasingly integrated into national defence strategies, students and early-career researchers in law, engineering, computer science, and defence studies will play a vital role in shaping these systems. However, general knowledge of the legal and ethical frameworks governing the development and use of such technologies remains limited, especially the obligations under Article 36.

This Student Ambassador Scheme aims to bridge this gap by empowering students to become informed advocates for responsible and lawful innovation in military technology.

Objectives

The Lawful by Design Student Ambassador Scheme will:

  • Raise awareness of IHL obligations and the requirement to conduct legal reviews under Article 36

  • Promote understanding of the intersection between law, ethics, and emerging technologies in military contexts

  • Encourage interdisciplinary dialogue across faculties (law, engineering, philosophy, defence studies, AI, etc.)

  • Provide leadership and public engagement opportunities for students

  • Contribute to the creation of a community of emerging professionals committed to the responsible design and use of military technologies

Who Should Apply?

We invite expressions of interest from undergraduate, honours, masters, and PhD students who are studying or researching in one or more of the following areas:

  • International law / IHL / arms control

  • Engineering and defence technology

  • Robotics and autonomy

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning

  • Ethics, philosophy, or policy relating to emerging tech and warfare

  • International relations

Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to public service, academic integrity, and responsible innovation.

Meet the LBD Student Ambassadors

  • Flóra Merész

    Flóra Merész is a Public International Law LL.M. student at Leiden University. She recently graduated from Leiden University College, where she majored in International Justice. Her main research interests lie in military AI, and more specifically, the use and regulation of AI Decision Support Systems (AI-DSS) for the protection of civilians. She wrote her Bachelor’s Thesis on the use of AI-DSS by the Israeli Defence Forces, examining specifically the legality of the Lavender and Gospel systems. In the future, her goal is to work on the development and implementation of a regulatory framework on emerging military technologies that safeguards civilians in armed conflicts.

  • Natali Gbele

    Natali is a research assistant and doctoral candidate at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. Her research focuses on the challenges of opaque AI-DSS in international humanitarian law.

  • Roger Lo

    Roger Lo is a junior at National Chengchi University, majoring in Diplomacy and International Law and Digital Governance, with minors in Law and Philosophy. He serves as Vice President of the NCCU Jessup International Law Society and Director of International Affairs at National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategic Studies Institution. He was also the Academic Director of the NCCU Diplomacy Student Association.

  • Hekmat Hasan

    Hekmat is a trainee journalist, documentary filmmaker, and researcher specialising in artificial intelligence in defence and security. He is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Coded Wars, an independent platform investigating how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping modern warfare and security policy. He is currently completing a BA (Hons) in Broadcast & Digital Journalism at the University of West London.tion goes here

  • Adeela Ahmed

    Adeela Ahmed is a PhD Candidate in International Relations at the School of Integrated Social Sciences, the University of Lahore Lahore Pakistan. Research Fellow Center for Security and Strategy Policy Research Institute (CSSPR), Lahore Pakistan. Adeela is a researcher in International Security, focusing on the intersection of technology and strategic stability in South Asia. Her research investigates how emerging military technologies, such as AI and hypersonic systems, are challenging existing nuclear deterrence dynamics.