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A United Nations tribunal in the Hague, and the White House and Capitol Hill in Washington replaced the classroom for two UWA undergraduates.Law student Kelsey Argue has recently returned from a year-long internship at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Arts student Hannah Fitch-Rabbitt spent two months working in the US Congress.

Hannah, majoring in Political Science and International Relations and History, was one of 14 students Australia-wide to be selected for the prestigious Uni-Capitol Washington internship program . "I was intrigued to learn more about US politics and culture firsthand, having studied it for the past three years," Hannah said.

She was matched with Representative James E Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina.  "The matched internships enable genuine mentoring and foster entrepreneurship among interns, sustained American-Australian relationships and mutual understanding," said Assistant Professor Chantal Bourgault du Coudray , the Arts Faculty's Practicum Coordinator.

Hannah enjoyed a different challenge every day at Capitol Hill but says one of the highlights was attending a welcome for the French President at the White House.

In The Hague, Kelsey Argue was able to extend her UN internship to a year. "But staying at the ICTY as long as I did, I really felt I could contribute to the case," she said. "I had substantial long-term projects and valued the opportunity to see those projects through in depth."

She was the latest in a series of UWA students to represent the University at the ICTY. The UN established the tribunal in 1993 to try those accused of violating international humanitarian law during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Hannah worked in the trial division of the Office of the Prosecutor and said it was an excellent way to gain practical legal experience and learn about international criminal law.