The aim of this meeting is to give students engaged in doctoral or other substantial research projects the opportunity to meet each other and to discuss their research with a wide circle of colleagues and leading experts in their field. The participants of the previous meetings, held from 2001 to 2006, also appreciated the opportunity to build their own network of contacts. To recognize the contribution of the students, prizes will be awarded in three categories:

• most logically structured and thought out synopsis;
• most thought provoking and stimulating presentation;
• contribution deemed most outstanding by the panel.

The winner in each category will receive three months free access to all of the IBFD’s online publications - worth around €3,000. In addition, all participants receive a discount of 50% on IBFD books.

Most of the students participating in the meeting will be working on a doctoral thesis, but applications from students writing a substantial LLM paper will also be considered. The topic should be one of international, EU or comparative tax law. All applications will go through a screening process to ensure that only students carrying out original research of sufficient quality are admitted. As one of the goals of the seminar is to reach a broad group of talented researchers, participants of previous meetings will be admitted only if they have made substantial progress in their research since their previous meeting.

University teachers and other academics wishing to attend and willing to contribute to the discussion or help lead the discussion groups are welcome to inquire with the Academic Council about the possibility until Monday 16 June 2008 at the latest.

A maximum of 20 students will be admitted, and a minimum of 10 registrations of sufficient quality is required in order for the meeting to go ahead. Registrations should be submitted by 1 May 2008. All applicants will be informed by 16 May 2008 whether the meeting will go ahead and whether they have been accepted.

The meeting will be held from 29 June - 3 July 2008, in the IBFD office in Amsterdam. Participating students are welcome to arrive early, or to stay longer, in order to use the IBFD library. Participating students are expected to attend all the events scheduled as part of the programme for the meeting.

Prof. Hugh Ault (Boston College Law School) Prof. Huub Bierlaagh (IBFD and Sorbonne University, Paris)
Prof. Kees van Raad (University of Leiden)
Prof. María Teresa Soler Roch (University of Alicante)
Joanna Wheeler, (IBFD and senior visiting fellow, Queen Mary College, University of London
Prof. Frans Vanistendael (Prof. Em. KULeuven, Academic Chairman IBFD)
Prof. Wim Wijnen (IBFD and LUISS University, Rome)

Members of the Academic Council will sit in during the presentations and stimulate the discussions. They are also available to participants for counseling on their research projects.

Each student will be given a maximum of 30 minutes for the initial presentation of his/her research. During this time the student should highlight the most interesting and controversial issues that the student is considering, and introduce some questions or comments designed to provoke a lively discussion among the participants. The student should allow at least five minutes, but preferably longer, for a round of initial responses from the plenary group. Following the presentations for the day, the students will break up into small groups to discuss the topics presented. These discussions should not only cover the individual topics presented, but should also consider the common themes and connections among them. Each of the small groups will have a reporter who will report on the group’s deliberations to the plenary session, where the discussion will continue. The groups and reporters will be determined in advance by the Academic Council, in order to ensure that the groups are differently constituted each day and that each student acts once as a reporter.

Students wishing to participate in the meeting are required to submit a synopsis of their research, in a maximum of 1,000 words, which will be the basis on which the selection is made. Students accepted for the meeting will have the opportunity to revise their synopsis before the meeting, and all the final synopses will be mailed to all participants a couple of weeks beforehand. All participants will be expected to have read and considered all the synopses before the meeting. Students will also be required to use PowerPoint when making their presentation. The PowerPoint presentation should contain a maximum of five slides picking out the highlights of the research, and two slides presenting the questions or propositions that the student wishes to introduce as the basis for further discussion. The questions and propositions may be formulated in a rather sharp or provocative manner in order to ensure a lively discussion. It is also open to the student to take a more extreme position than she/he actually has in order to stimulate the discussion! Students who do not have access to a PowerPoint programme may submit the text of their presentation in Word, and the IBFD will convert it into PowerPoint.

Evening Welcome get-together, with boat tour of Amsterdam and dinner.

Daily Programme
09.30 – 12.30   Five student presentations and initial comments
12.30 – 15.00   Lunch and discussion in small groups
15.00 – 17.00   Report back and plenary discussion

Evening
Closing dinner