Ph.D. (Dr. iur), cum laude, Hannover Universität
LL.M. Tulane University
Law Degree, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Areas of Research: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Maritime Law and Policies, Law of the Sea, and International Organizations
Dr. iur. María Carolina Romero Lares has been a member of the World Maritime University faculty since 2011 and has served as Head of the Maritime Law and Policy (MLP) Specialization since April 2023. Under her leadership, MLP has become the University’s largest specialization, with a modernized curriculum that bridges international legal theory and strategic public management.
Dr. Romero holds a Ph.D. (Dr. iur.) with honors (cum laude) from Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany. She also earned an LL.M. from Tulane University in the United States and a law degree from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Venezuela. Before joining WMU, she served as Director of the International Affairs Office at the Venezuelan Maritime Administration (INEA) and taught at the Universidad Nacional Experimental Marítima del Caribe.
Dr. Romero is a central figure in WMU’s global engagement, serving as the designated Focal Point for several strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), DIRECTEMAR (Chile), DICAPI (Peru), the Ibero-American Maritime Law Institute (IIDM), and the National Maritime Foundation of Peru (FUNDAMAR).
She has chaired numerous high-level international events, including the WMU Regional Alumni Conferences for the Americas (Peru 2017, Mexico 2019) and the 2nd International Conference on Maritime Women: Global Leadership. She is also a strong advocate for multilingualism and has pioneered a pilot project for a Spanish-language digital collection at the WMU Library.
Dr. iur. María Carolina Romero Lares has been a member of the World Maritime University faculty since 2011 and has served as Head of the Maritime Law and Policy (MLP) Specialization since April 2023. Under her leadership, MLP has become the University’s largest specialization, with a modernized curriculum that bridges international legal theory and strategic public management.
Dr. Romero holds a Ph.D. (Dr. iur.) with honors (cum laude) from Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany. She also earned an LL.M. from Tulane University in the United States and a law degree from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Venezuela. Before joining WMU, she served as Director of the International Affairs Office at the Venezuelan Maritime Administration (INEA) and taught at the Universidad Nacional Experimental Marítima del Caribe.
Dr. Romero is a central figure in WMU’s global engagement, serving as the designated Focal Point for several strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), DIRECTEMAR (Chile), DICAPI (Peru), the Ibero-American Maritime Law Institute (IIDM), and the National Maritime Foundation of Peru (FUNDAMAR).
She has chaired numerous high-level international events, including the WMU Regional Alumni Conferences for the Americas (Peru 2017, Mexico 2019) and the 2nd International Conference on Maritime Women: Global Leadership. She is also a strong advocate for multilingualism and has pioneered a pilot project for a Spanish-language digital collection at the WMU Library.
