ICC Australia Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition
Industry and Community Partner
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Hackathon/Competition and Events
University
RMIT University
Kirkwood Community College
Dundalk Institute of Technology
Innovative Features
- Spanning multiple universities or institutions
- Coach or mentor elements
- Co-designed with industry or community
- Scalable and sustainable
Enablers
- The motivation of the Australian Chamber to broaden and expand its access to qualified arbitrators and to embed knowledge of the Australian Chamber and ICC into the student group.
- Australian Chamber’s motivation to support the development of the dispute resolution industry in Australia and demonstrate to a wider audience how the Australian Chamber contributes to the industry was a key enabler in terms of allocating resources and staff to the facilitation of the Competition.
- The Australian Chamber was able to draw upon the knowledge and experience of the ICC, building upon 13 years of experience facilitating the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition.
- The Australian Chamber co-designed the ICC Australia Asia-Pacific Commercial Mediation Competition with Australian mediators who had been involved in the international mediation competition and with the industry more broadly to ensure the competition was successful in an Australian and Asia-Pacific context.
For more information
Manager | Strategic Communications
and Marketing E: adelina.lavita@australianchamber.com.au
Details of the 2018 competition are on our → website
The Competition equips students with the skills to better meet the dispute resolution needs of international businesses in an increasingly cross-cultural and global marketplace. Through the Competition students learn to effectively combine the use of mediation and collaborative problem-solving skills to successfully represent parties’ interests and progress towards a settlement.
The aims of the competition are to:
- Draw attention to mediation as a legitimate area of law for aspiring law students;
- Develop students’ skills in mediation, analytical judgement and persuasion; and,
- Connect bright and aspiring students to appropriate professional networks.
Teams are drawn from Australian and international universities and are mentored by leading professional mediators. The Competition replicates the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition, held annually at the ICC Global Headquarters in Paris, France. There is a reserved place in the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in 2019 for the winning team.
Impact / outcomes
Students: Students gain experience both in relation to participating in a competition and in terms of practicing and experiencing the processes of mediation first-hand. Students report much benefit from preparing for the mediation and then responding to the changing environment during the competition. Students also get to meet industry professionals that they might not otherwise gain access to. This increases their professional network and exposes them to a professional body – the Australian Chamber.
University Partners: Universities gain knowledge and experience from industry professionals and exposure to a competition that they might not otherwise be able to access. The Mediation Competition provides the university with something new, different and vibrant to offer students. University staff gain exposure to other educators, and the opportunity to network and share experience and knowledge across universities. University staff are also invited to attend other professional development and networking events hosted during the week of the Mediation Competition.
Australian Chamber: The Mediation Competition boosts the profile of the Australian Chamber and demonstrates their credentials in mediation to a wider audience. It also aims to increase its member base in the long term. The Mediation Competition has support from industry and government partners for the competition in 2018.
Student Assessment
Each university team must provide a Mediation Plan prior to the competition for each Mediation Session in which it competes during the Preliminary Rounds (and Final Round if relevant). The Judges evaluate and score the performance of each university team according to the Mediation Score Sheet. During the Preliminary Rounds, Judges shall also decide whether to nominate a team for one or more Special Awards by completing the Special Award Score Sheet. The team with the greatest number of points will be the winner of that round in the Preliminary Rounds. The Preliminary Rounds continue until there are two teams remaining, who compete against each other in the Final Round which determines the winner of the Mediation Competition. The Final Round is assessed in the same way, with the Judges determining the winner.
Evaluation
The Australian Chamber conducts an evaluation survey requesting feedback from students and universities regarding the Mediation Competition. Overall experience at the competition in 2017 was rated as 57% Excellent and 43% Good.
