On 22. September 2026, the Law and Tech Research Cluster was joined by colleagues from across DCU School of Law and Government, IDP, KU Leuven and Weizenbaum Institute/WZB Berlin Social Science Center for the Inaugural Meeting of the newly established International Research Network on Law and Technology.

The International Research Network on Law and Technology is an initiative led by DCU, IDP and KU Leuven that aims to foster academic exchange and connections among researchers working at the intersection of law, technology, and society from a multidisciplinary perspective. It will convene bi-monthly meetings to discuss research, books and articles produced or suggested by the community. Long term goals include fostering increased collaboration between the participating institutions and their researchers.

The inaugural meeting was kicked-off by opening remarks from Alisson Possa (IDP), Laura Scheffel Mendes (IDP), Victor Henriquez Diaz (DCU), Edoardo Celeste (DCU) and Isabela Rosal Santos (KU Leuven). This was followed by a presentation of the article “EU AI Policies and the Price of Digital Sovereignty: Between Open Strategic Autonomy and Protectionist Effects” (co-authored by Victor Henriquez Diaz & Edoardo Celeste) which concluded in a lively discussion on related research at the other institutions as well as recent digital sovereignty developments across Brazil and the EU.