According to Professor Bassem Awad, who recently joined the Common Law Section as Associate Professor, tomorrow’s lawyers will need more opportunities to engage directly with emerging technologies, contribute to public policy, and develop practical experience solving real-world problems.
That vision is what drew him to the role of Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC).
"What attracted me to uOttawa and CIPPIC was the opportunity to bring together research, teaching, public-interest advocacy, and experiential learning in a way that creates meaningful impact for students and society," says Professor Awad.
For Professor Awad, CIPPIC represents a unique opportunity to connect legal scholarship with practical impact. As Canada's first and only public interest technology law clinic, CIPPIC gives students the opportunity to work on legal and policy issues that shape how technology affects Canadians' everyday lives — from privacy and freedom of expression to artificial intelligence authorship and inventorship, platform accountability, and access to knowledge.
"Technology is transforming society, and legal institutions have an important role to play in ensuring that innovation serves the public interest," he says. "Through research, advocacy, and experiential learning, CIPPIC helps prepare the next generation of lawyers to meet that challenge."
That philosophy has guided Professor Awad throughout an international career spanning legal practice, judiciary, public policy, and academia.
Before joining the University of Ottawa, Professor Awad was a faculty member at Western University's Faculty of Law, where he founded the Western Intellectual Property and Innovation Legal Clinic (WIPILC). Earlier in his career, he served as a judge in Egypt and Abu Dhabi, led several innovation policy initiatives at the Canadian Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), and worked extensively with governments and international and regional organizations, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the African Union, on issues relating to intellectual property, innovation strategy, and technology governance.
At the University of Ottawa, Professor Awad's research focuses on the governance of emerging technologies, particularly the intersection of artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and global technology policy, with an emphasis on promoting innovation while advancing the public interest.
These experiences have reinforced one central belief: legal education should prepare students not only to understand the law, but also to shape the legal and policy frameworks which they may one day implement, interpret, or reform.
"One of the values that has always guided me — as a person, educator, researcher, and leader is a commitment to service," says Professor Awad. "I want students to see law not simply as a set of rules, but as a tool that can shape innovation, public policy, and societal change."
At CIPPIC, that commitment to service translates into preparing the next generation of leaders in technology law and policy. Students work alongside lawyers on policy submissions, legal research, public education initiatives, advocacy projects, and, where appropriate, litigation and regulatory proceedings. In doing so, they gain practical skills while contributing to issues of national and international implication.
"My goal is for students to leave CIPPIC not only with strong legal skills but also with a sense of confidence, purpose, and civic responsibility," he says. "I want them to see themselves as future leaders who can help shape technology law and public policy in ways that benefit society as a whole."
Professor Awad also sees tremendous opportunities for collaboration across disciplines. The University's location in Canada's capital, and its internationally recognized expertise in tech law, public policy, artificial intelligence, and human rights, creates an environment where legal scholars can work alongside researchers, policy makers, civil society organizations, and industry to address some of today's most pressing technological challenges.
"My goal is to continue building interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that advance knowledge, inform public policy, and create transformative learning experiences for students," he says.
To learn more about Professor Awad's research, professional background, and appointment as Director of CIPPIC, read the Centre for Law, Technology and Society's announcement.