Styliani (Stella) Roussou
I’m Stella and I was born and raised in Greece, where I earned my undergraduate degree in Law. Ever since I was young, I have had an unbridled passion for music, dance, painting and anything artistic. I’ve married this love of art with a passion for technology and law—particularly intellectual property—and I hope to one day establish my own law firm dedicated to these fields.
"It was a demanding application, but certainly an enjoyable process—the results of which are even more rewarding than I could have ever imagined."
Marrying law with art through IP and technology
Styliani “Stella” Roussou’s interest in law was born out of the intersection of her lifelong interests in art and music. In fact, she taught herself to play several instruments and exhibited paintings in amateur galleries over the years. But as she grew older, her artistic passions morphed into an appreciation for the geometrical precision of mathematics and, subsequently, an interest in technology. It was this collision of art and mathematics that led her to study law, where mathematical analysis is part of every carefully crafted argument and precision characterizes the detailed preparation of a case before “the artful elocution of a convincing oration in court.”
Stella originally joined the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) as an undergraduate student, working her way up from being a regular member to a director and, finally, the organization’s VP of marketing. Through her work there, she discovered the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree program through a long-standing scholarship offered in collaboration between IE Law School and ELSA. The Fund allows the school to provide a partial scholarship to ELSA members, covering up to 30% of the tuition for their Master of Laws (LL.M.). And although she admits that the application process was demanding, Stella describes it as “more rewarding” than she ever expected.
For her, the same international spirit that she so appreciated in ELSA also characterizes IE Law School. Stella has been able to transfer the personal, professional and soft skills she gained in the organization to her activities as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) student. And given her passion for both art and technology, she was excited to foster her creativity even further through the school’s unique approach to learning.
IE Law School guides students through theoretical academic coursework into professional real-world projects using a holistic, comparative approach. So far, the multidimensional environment and numerous hours spent in team-based coursework have taught Stella to manage stressful situations, unpredictable events and short deadlines. It’s also given her the blueprint for interacting with people from different professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.
Stella believes that, ultimately, this innovative but rigorous academic process is a beneficial simulation of a real professional environment; but she also advises incoming law students to get involved with the IE Community beyond the classroom. IE Law School offers a plethora of options for extracurricular activities such as clubs, labs and more—an ideal way for new students to start building their future networks.
After graduation, Stella’s goal is to work for the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante. Her hope is to gain experience from the most specialized European organization in the field of IP and technology, seizing the chance to be part of a pan-European and international environment while also living abroad.
In the long term, she plans to eventually return to her home in Greece, where she can serve as the go-to expert in IP and technology law—two fields that she feels are currently underdeveloped in the country. Stella dreams of founding her own law firm dedicated to these fields so that she can continue to indulge her technocratic side by keeping up with the rapid technology-driven changes that she anticipates the future will bring.
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