At Corpus we are proud that our Fellowship consists of a such supportive group of academics, with no greater example than Dr Andrew Sanger.

Andrew is a University Associate Professor in International Law and a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. He is also Director of Studies in Law at Corpus.

Last year we were thrilled to report that Andrew won the Cambridge Student Union’s Student-Led Teaching Award for Small-Group Teaching (Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences). The awards saw 400 nominations for nine different categories and exist to reward outstanding teaching and student support across Cambridge University and its Colleges.

Andrew’s continued commitment to his students and teaching position at Cambridge, this year saw him nominated and shortlisted for a national teaching award, the Oxford University Press (OUP) Law Teacher of the Year 2023.

While very humble about his recognition, Andrew was thrilled to be shortlisted. Despite not winning the overall prize, Andrew was blown away by the comments from his peers and students. He said, "I feel enormously privileged, especially as there are so many great teachers out there who go unrecognised, and I'm extremely grateful to all my brilliant, curious and kind students, and to OUP for all that they do to make this happen."

LLM student Dominic Bielby said, "For those who have had the privilege of being taught by Andrew, news of his nomination for the OUP Law Teacher of the Year 2023 Award is both delightful to hear and entirely unsurprising. Andrew embodies the values of the model educator: his supervisions were intellectually enriching and engaging; his feedback prompt, diligent and insightful; and the support offered for our legal study, even in matters not directly related to his own responsibilities, useful and encouraging. The life of every Corpus lawyer has, undoubtedly, benefited from the presence of Andrew in our College: thank you for all you have done for us Andrew, and congratulations on your nomination!"

We are pleased to be able to share an extract from the speech given by the judges about Andrew:

Care is the word that was used over and over again to describe Andrew’s contribution and approach as a teacher. His students spoke at length about how much he cares and does so much out of the ordinary. One student said, “he’s the model of what an academic should be”. It is so very clear that Andrew cares about the whole person in everything he does – whether in seminar supervisions, in meticulously preparing teaching materials, in the lecture theatre or in PhD supervision. Two of his PhD students spoke about his empathy and compassion. How he looked out for them and supported them through difficult COVID times. Many of his students also spoke about his alertness and adaptative response to the needs of neurodiverse students.

In terms of teaching philosophy, Andrew also very much embraces a critical lens and frame in his teaching of international law. Students are introduced and encouraged to engage with diverse voices and scholars, to engage, for example, with feminist and queer approaches in international law. Students are encouraged to question and critique international law.

Andrew is passionate about the need to diversify the law curriculum and through his own work in the modules he teaches, he is inspiring others around him, and, as noted by his Head of Department, he is pushing the conversation forward on so many levels including curriculum design, new teaching approaches and assessment. His Head of Department spoke about how he is a “meticulous teacher” who sets high standards but always with humanity and inclusivity at the core. They also emphasized how “from the beginning he creates an environment where students can enquire.” His teaching approach is described as a “combination of absolute rigour” and “humanity”. His colleagues praised his “extraordinary eye to meet the needs of individual students” and his “infallible eye for pastoral issues”.

Hear from Andrew in the video below about why Cambridge is place to study Law and how a College like Corpus is the perfect home for lawyers of the future.