Between the 17th-22th of July 2022, the SAPIENS Network held its highly anticipated Summer School at the Babeș-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca, Romania). During the Summer School, the participants were divided into two groups: the ones who are doing a PhD in law and the group of PhDs in the economy, management, organisation and administration. Each group received training in the opposite discipline to ensure cross-disciplinarity of the SAPIENS research.

Law training for the PhDs in the economy, management, organisation and administration

The Summer School began with Professor Martin Trybus (University of Birmingham) discussing  the fundamental concepts of law: international, EU, and national law, the hierarchy of norms and the organisation of jurisdictions. During the talk, students explored the public procurement process and its interaction with different legal sources.

On the second day, Professor Roberto Caranta (University of Turin) explained the legislative process focusing on the EU legislative procedure and the main stakeholders involved. The course reviewed the hierarchy of EU norms, including treaties, regulations, directives, decisions, and case law. Using a case study, the ESRs discussed how the Court of Justice’s interpretation and application of the Treaties impacts and influences the application of EU legal sources.

Afterwards, legal interpretation and the role of lawyers in legal interpretation have been examined. The session explored the various types of interpretation and their historical evolution. Professor Caranta discussed the general principles of the TFUE and the process of their enshrinement as principles within the EU law. Finally, under the supervision of Professor Trybus, the group discussed a case study on the primacy of EU law over national law.

The topic for the afternoon was entitled ‘Internal market law: prohibitions to restrict goods and services’. The training continued with a presentation by Associate Professor Marta Andhov (Copenhagen University) on the importance of the EU single market. A major objective of the debate was to understand the reasoning behind creating the Common Market by the Treaty of Rome in 1958. Furthermore, we examined the Single European Act of 1986, which included the goal of establishing the internal market.

The third day began with a session on public contract law entitled: ‘Contract law – public law or private law?’ Professor Caranta introduced the various legal traditions in the EU and how public procurement is conceptualised within each of these systems. Afterwards, Associate Professor Andhov discussed the interplay between contract law and public procurement law, particularly focusing on contract modifications. This presentation focused on critical aspects that need to be considered when forming or implementing a contract, such as the concept of substantial modification or termination of the contract. Participants had a chance to exercise their understanding of the law through a hands-on approach to resolving case studies.

During the fourth day, we dove into the history of law and sought answers to the following question: what is the role of Roman law in our contemporary legal system? More precisely, it discussed its impact on the current legal framework, the fundamental principles that shaped Roman law, as well as the concept of codification. Afterwards, Professor Dacian Dragoș (Babeș-Bolyai University) led a discussion on the relationship between administrative law and public procurement. Participants understood the various functions, responsibilities and interactions that public authorities have within a State. Moreover, the training highlighted the implementation of sustainability in the various stages of the public procurement process.

During his session, Dr. Henok Asmelash (University of Birmingham) introduced the International Trade Law. The main aspects discussed were the history and the institutional structure of International Trade Law. The session examined the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a supranational body, with an emphasis on its purpose and history. The day continued with Professor Olga Martin Ortega (University of Greenwich) guiding participants through the subject of International Law, Business and Human Rights. The training explored several subjects, such as treaties, principles of international law, political context and limitations of international law, and an exercise that allowed the participants to test their knowledge.

The fifth and final day of the Summer School focused on legal remedies in public procurement law. During this session, participants examined the various remedies that exist in public procurement law, followed by examples from the various EU Member States. The purpose of this session was to serve as a warm-up for the Moot Court.

During the second part of the day, participants had the opportunity to participate in a Moot Court. Each participant played a different role among the following: the claimant, the public authorities and the judges. Each team prepared and afterwards presented their legal arguments. This tailor-made exercise tested the knowledge acquired by the ESRs during Summer School and their teamwork abilities.

Economy, supply chain and business training for the PhD students in law

The participants doing their PhDs in law followed various training sessions on economics, supply chain, business and organisation.

The first day started with an introductory lecture by Professor Davide Vannoni (University of Torino and ITC-ILO) on market analysis. This session explored the role of market research in public procurement, more precisely, when and how it’s best to undertake market research. Moreover, the participants learned about the different types of competition and their interaction with public procurement: how to avoid supply monopolies and encourage more economic operators to participate by reducing barriers to entry for potential suppliers. The next session by Professor Davide Vannoni was called ‘Game Theory – Inside Oligopoly’ and dove into strategic interaction in public procurement. The lecture investigated multiple famous games and discussed their application in public procurement. Later, participants had the chance to put theory into practice and simulate a competitive tendering procedure. The activity sparked a lot of interaction among the ESRs, who were very interested in learning more about the auctions’ dynamics.

Day two saw our participants continue their journey in the field of economics with the topic: ‘Profit, People, Planet’. The first session, by Professor Davide Vannoni, entitled ‘From accounting profit to economic profit’, explained the main differences between these two concepts. The course offered examples relevant to public procurement. The next day’s training welcomed Professor Anna Adamik (Lodz University of Technology). Her topic, ‘CSR as a source of competitive advantage in SMART WORLD’, presented two relevant aspects for sustainable public procurement. Firstly, it discussed the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility and its interaction with public procurement. Secondly, it explored the interaction between digital technologies, innovation and sustainability.

Later, ESRs presented several case studies on sustainable public procurement under the supervision of Professor Davide Vanonni. They studied successful examples of sustainable public procurement in practice from all around the world.

During day three, participants discussed business strategies with Alexandru Roja (Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Transylvania IT Cluster). The session focused on planning and decision-making in public procurement. He also explored the potential of digital transformation in public procurement and its interaction with the green transition.

The topic of the fourth day was Technology in public procurement. Professor Gyöngyi Vörösmarty (Corvinus University of Budapest) and Daniel Homorodean (vice-president of Cluj IT Cluster, one of the partner organisations of the SAPIENS Network) were the speakers. The first session, by Professor Vörösmarty, focused on Procurement strategy and supply chain management. The participants received a complete picture of the concept of procurement strategy. Moreover, the course presented the main principles of supply chain management, the concept of supply base management and the notion of portfolios. Daniel Homorodean presented on ‘Emerging technologies in public procurement’ and discussed the most important technologies that could be implemented in public procurement. He also tackled their potential advantages and applications in public procurement.

On the last day, Professor Tünde Tátrai (Corvinus University of Budapest) guided our ESRs through the topic of ‘Public procurement indicators and methods’. Firstly, our PhDs discussed ‘Public procurement indicators, beyond the Single Market Scoreboard’. They learned the importance of using EU Single Market Scoreboard indicators and how to contextualise and interpret them correctly.

In the last session, Professor Tátrai focused on ‘Long-term public procurement methods’, using national case examples. The session explained the functioning and organisation of different central purchasing bodies from the EU, including applying various procurement techniques such as framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems, e-auctions and e-catalogues. The training ended with a case study that focused on long-term procurement methods for the various needs of a contracting authority and sparked a lively debate among the participants.

The Summer School also offered memorable teambuilding activities. The participants visited Alba-Iulia, Sibiu and the Turda Saltmine and explored the activities conducted by CREIC (the Regional Center of Excellence for Creative Industries of Cluj-Napoca).