HED - Law School Special

INDIA EDITION Connecta

www.highereducationdigest.com

ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad

Preparing

Practice-Ready

NOVEMBER 2019

Professionals

2

Higher Education Digest November 2019

3

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Connecta

November 2019

Vol - 1 Issue - 10

Law Colleges Special (India Edition) Editor in Chief

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Shyam S

Jessica Jo Stanly Lui Emma James

Editorial Enquiry: editor@highereducationdigest.com

Art and Design Ajay K Das

Sales & Marketing

Jyoti Kumari Prathyoosh K Shaji

4

Divya M Milan Bharati

Sales Enquiry: sales@highereducationdigest.com

Subscription

www.highereducationdigest.com

International Representation

GET THE MOBILE ISSUE

London Connecta Education Ltd. 27, Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom Dubai Focus Innovation Technologies FZE P.O. Box 48299, Dubai Silicon Oasis Dubai, UAE Bangalore Connecta Innovation Pvt. Ltd. Carlton Towers, Old Airport Road, Bangalore - 560008 India Connecta Higher Education Digest is a digital magazine published by Connecta Innovation Private Limited. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in the content are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Connecta Innovation Private Limited or any of its members. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the advertisements and all representation of warranties made in such advisements are those of the advertisers and not of the publisher.

Higher Education Digest November March 2019 2019

EDITOR IN CHIEF’S NOTE

Who can be a Lawyer?

F

rom Mahatma Gandhi to Barack Obama, the list of visionaries who have utilized legal professional as a steppingstone to greatness would hardly get an end. This goes to show that, a career in law can not only provide the learners with a steady and stable profession but can also let them genuinely help people. Unlike yesteryears when black robes and courtrooms where the bread and butter of lawyers, today, legal profession has come a long way and it now encompasses various fields such as litigation, media, IP, academics and many more. Undoubtedly, the legal profession looks attractive enough, but what kind of person would make a great lawyer?

Good communication skills - both oral and written – are the obvious talents needed for a legal professional. He/she must also be a good reader, as they will need to do a lot of research to be effective

at their job. However, legal industry veterans consider logical reason as the most important skill that a law aspirant needs to have. The professionals in this sector need to look at matters objectively and come to their own conclusions at the end of every case that they deal with. In nutshell, if you are smart, presentable and not afraid to put forward your opinion, the law is a career you should consider!

In India, however, choosing law as a career is not the end of the discussion. Every aspirant must be careful while choosing a law school. To help the learners of law, we have identified ‘10 Must-Watch Law Colleges in India,’ which are offering excellent legal education and support their student reach the heights of the judicial system in the country. We believe that our efforts will help the young Indians who are in search of quality legal education.

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Higher Education Digest November 2019

5

ADVISORY BOARD

Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE. Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE

Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.

Dr.Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB. Researcher and Data Analyst in Social Science

6 Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)

Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi) Senior Director HR. Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.

Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA Ex-M D Army Welfare Education Society, ExCOO GEMS Education - India, Ex- Addl Dir Gen - Army Education, Mentor - Adventure-Pulse

Asst. Prof. Dr. Suramya Mathai, Ph.D,M.Ed,MA,BA. Teachers Training Expert, Writer, Author, Speaker & Social Worker

Higher Education Digest November 2019

7

Higher Education Digest November 2019

MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE

Law Education in the Era of Globalization

8

A

round five decades ago, the law schools in India were meant to produce legal professional who would become lawyers in the court or would go back the law schools as teachers. The Advocates Act, 1961 was enacted to achieve the said object, namely, to prescribe minimum standards for entry into professional practice ‘in the courts’, as stated above.

However, the economic liberalization in 1991 did change the entire concept of legal education in India.

Now, law graduates have many more opportunities than representing the courtrooms, as they also have requirements of globalization to meet.

With the advent of globalization, new subjects with international dimensions have come into Indian legal education. In the changed scenario, the additional roles envisaged are that of policy planner, business advisor, negotiator among interest groups, experts in articulation and communication of ideas, mediator, lobbyist, law reformer, and many more. Experts in this sector claim that today’s legal professionals must be comfortable interacting with

other professions on an equal footing and be able to consume scientific and technical knowledge.

That means, the law curriculum must provide integrated knowledge of a whole range of physical and natural science subjects on which legal policies are now being formulated.

The November edition of the Higher Education Digest focuses on Law Colleges in India for this very reason – to understand the potential of Indian law colleges to produce graduates who thrive in the changing scenarios. We have identified ’10 Must-Watch Law Colleges in India’ which are continuously striving to produce excellent legal professionals. On the cover, we feature ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad, a constituent of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, which has been functioning with an agenda of imparting quality legal education and has been shaping the legal professionals with excellence to cater to the needs of various constituents of the society.

Enjoy Reading.

Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest November 2019

9

Higher Education Digest November 2019

COVER STORY

16 - 23

ICFAI

Law School, Hyderabad Preparing Practice-Ready

Professionals 32 - 34 10

HALDIA LAW COLLEGE

The Eastern Marvel of Legal Education in India

36 - 39 INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW

Making Lawyers with a Social Vision

Higher Education Digest November 2019

CONTENTS MENTOR’S MANTRA

INDUSTRY PERCPECTIVE

12 - 15

24 - 26

How is Globalization Affecting Legal Education?

Impact of Technology in Modern Education

Dr. Onyeka Osuji

Pooja Vasudev, VP - Business Development, Epaathsala

11 ACADEMIC VIEW

38 - 40 Yet Another Milestone Parveen Shaikh, Principal, The Somaiya School

Higher Education Digest November 2019

MENTOR’S MANTRA

How is Globalization

Affecting Legal Education?

12

Dr. Onyeka Osuji

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Dr. Onyeka Osuji is a Reader in Law and Director of the Commercial Law PGT at the School of Law, University of Essex. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Dr Osuji obtained a PhD in law from the University of Manchester (as a School of Law Scholar) and a BCL (Law) from the University of Oxford (as a Shell Centenary/FCO Chevening Scholar).

He has an LLB from the University of Nigeria where he graduated as the Best Student of the Faculty of Law. He also has a barrister-at-law diploma from the Nigerian Law School and was awarded the Best Overall Performance (Second Prize) and two prizes in Legal Drafting and Conveyancing. Dr Osuji previously practised in corporate and commercial law before becoming an academic. He is qualified as a barrister and solicitor of Nigeria and a (non-practising) solicitor of England and Wales and has advised individuals, corporations, and national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations. In an exclusive interaction with Higher Education Digest, Dr. Osuji talks about his views on legal education in India, education in the UK and many more.

What is your opinion about the Indian legal education ecosystem and talent available here?

India’s population, array of talents and rich diversity of cultures provide opportunities for an excellent legal education. It appears that there is a relatively large interest in legal education in India leading to the existence of many legal education providers. This, perhaps, can be traced to cultural factors including the prestige attached to the legal profession. India is not alone in this as legal education enjoys admiration in many other countries. Nonetheless, it is also important to ensure that the products of the legal education system are sufficiently equipped for the challenges of contemporary society.

existing and emergent challenges in society. Continuous curriculum development is essential. Legal education providers will need to ensure that their curriculum, assessment criteria and learning outcomes are aware of contemporary developments and national and global challenges. It is increasingly important for legal education providers to partner and collaborate with institutions in other countries to provide forums for cross-exchange of ideas and awareness of emergent and international best standards and practices. This can be in the form of academic exchanges, student exchanges, conferences and workshops. Using and broadening the scope of external examining can also be helpful.

As the Director of Commercial Law PGT at the School of Law, University of Essex, what is your take on the major differences between Indian legal education system and global legal studies?

India shares the common law legal tradition with England and other Commonwealth countries that are former colonies of the United Kingdom. As a result, the substantive content of India’s legal education system may not be completely different from the other common law jurisdictions which recognise judge-made rules in case law. Some areas of law such as contract law and tort law are not dissimilar in those jurisdictions. Nevertheless, statutory developments in different jurisdictions can affect the content of traditional areas of common law and creating inter-jurisdictional differences. For example, statutory interventions for consumer protection have reshaped the face of contract law in England. It may therefore be useful to adopt a comparative and internationalist approach to teaching and learning certain areas of the law. This is one of the approaches adopted by the School of Law at the University of Essex. Curriculum can therefore be one of the jurisdictional differences in legal education provision.

There may also be differences in pedagogical approaches and assessment practices. For example, in addition to examination, essay writing is an important component of legal education in the United Kingdom.

With ever more business seeking to expand their operations across the borders, there is a rising demand for legal professionals with global mindset. At present, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges in the international law education sector?

Globalization has certainly created opportunities for legal education, including the internationalisation of student and teaching staff populations and internationalisation of curriculum. Law graduates are able to use qualifications gained in one jurisdiction in other locations. The extraterritorial nature of certain legal issues, including those triggered by digital technologies, has created opportunities for the application of legal knowledge and skills. Nonetheless, an internationalist curriculum can be demanding for legal education providers and may require significant and continuous investment in human, organizational and material resources to incorporate existing and emerging issues. Another challenge is with regards to the application of legal knowledge and legal practice opportunities for law graduates. While integration is pursued by an exponential number of regional organizations, restrictive national rules still apply to legal practice qualifications. The dominant trend is inward-looking national rules that deepen differences in legal practice qualification standards and impede a truly internationalist approach to legal education.

What should be the focus of Indian legal educators to reach the global standards of legal education?

Substantively, the development of a critical analytical mindset should be one of the areas of focus for legal education in India and elsewhere. The mindset will enable law graduates to identify and propose legal solutions to

While, digital education has the capability to change the educational landscape, what are the challenges for a traditional law facilitator in the tech-driven world?

While it offers immense opportunities such as ease and speed of research, a wider range of pedagogical tools and

Higher Education Digest November 2019

13

14

interactivity in teaching sessions, technology challenges legal education in various ways. First, the evolution of technology raises legal issues that requires curriculum development from time to time to take into consideration. For instance, what have been labelled ‘disruptive technologies’ cannot be ignored by legal education providers if legal education can produce appropriately equipped graduates. Secondly, while it can enhance research, technology allows unreliable sources to be easily available and disseminated to a wide range of audience, including students. There are, for instance, web-based sources that are deliberately designed to spread misinformation. Some have extremely poor-quality assurance standards which students may not know about. Thirdly, technology can challenge academic standards by providing opportunities for improper and dishonest academic practices such as plagiarism, collusion and commercial sale of essays. This particularly affects traditional assessment strategies such as essays and coursework.

Fourthly, reliance on technology may affect students’ attendance in classes and engagement with learning. Technology can also be distracting for students in class and while undertaking independent learning. For example, the pull of social media is particularly attractive for younger age groups who constitute the bulk of the legal education student body Many Indian students go abroad each year for higher education in various educational institutes all over the world.

Can you share us an integral know-how on a student’s life abroad, especially in the UK? What are the pros and cons?

There are over 25,000 Indian students in the UK currently and this figure is soon going to quadruple after the recent announcement of the introduction of a new Graduate Immigration Route for international students. Under this route, students will be able to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for a maximum period of two years. Also, graduates will be able to switch into skilled work once they have found a suitable job. Lives of students in the UK usually include the following highlights: • Focus on Research: Prestigious institutions like Essex put equal importance on teaching and research. At Essex we believe that research can help students to change the world for the better, build networks and enhance professional development. UK universities continuously encourage their students to pursue ground-breaking research. This mindset is engineered amongst international students during their LLM, where they need to undertake a mandatory dissertation (of between 15,000-20,000 words) as a part of their masters.

• Outcome based teaching with a clear focus on industry fitment: At Essex the courses are designed to equip students with a wide range of transferable skills which make them attractive to future employers. For example, the LLM International Commercial

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Because the Indian schools education system is based on the methodology of rote memorisation Indian students do not learn to present their ideas in an original format.

and Business Law and LLM Trade and Maritime Law courses offer a professional placement year after the standard one year.

• Attractive Duration of a UK masters: A standard UK LLM degree is for one year - Indian students can save up to half of their time if they wish to come to the UK instead of studying Law in India. This is also true for most master’s level programs in the UK, also UG degrees are of a standard three-year duration which is shorter compared to a four-year bachelors of technology degree in India. A one-year masters means less tuition fees and living costs without compromising on academic rigour and depth of study.

• Openness towards part-time jobs: Any experience is good experience and Indian students should open up to this thought. UK part time jobs teach a lot of transferable skills and can enhance long term employability prospects for students.

This is one of the best parts of a UK Tier 4 visa, it legally allows the students to work on and off the campus for 20 hours per week. Career centres at universities can support the students in finding these jobs by offering free counselling services, conducting a career mapping exercise, and helping them with CV editing services. Students are advised to keep a tab on the employability centres social media pages for job openings, attend career fairs, and making sure their network effectively to seek these options.

• An Essex degree experience also offers lots of additional opportunities such as the opportunity of learning an international language at no extra cost, employability support, career workshops, and life changing Study Abroad opportunities Some of the major challenges that Indian students face: Food: Even though Chicken Tikka Masala is sometimes called the national dish of Britain, most UK food is bland and very different to rich, spicy and clarified butter laden Indian cuisine.

Food is an important part of one’s wellbeing and is often the most ignored characteristic when measuring student happiness. We recommend that Indian students should learn the basics before they fly out to the UK, also suggest they buy groceries every weekend and get into the habit of cooking at least one meal a day to save costs and eat a

home cooked healthy option. Essex has a very active Indian Society that reaches out to Indian students and helps them settle at the university.

Lack of awareness on Plagiarism: Because the Indian schools education system is based on the methodology of rote memorisation Indian students do not learn to present their ideas in an original format. Because of lack of exposure to conduct original research, Indian students are tempted to present the ideas of others as theirs without giving them the valid acknowledgement.

Plagiarism is a very serious issue for UK institutions and one Indian student need to avoid at all costs. We recommend speaking to academic staff openly, keeping an open mindset about learning and being mindful of relearning new teaching approaches. Living independently: A lot of Indian students find it challenging to live without the support of parents and family.

Learning to multitask is a key skill which students from India are encouraged to learn. We recommend that students should create a task list for paying bills, keeping a check on monthly spend, renewing any travel cards, rent renewal or any other activity which might seem daunting to them.

Tell us about the scholarships offered by the University of Essex to attraction international students, especially students from India.

Essex has an academic excellence international masters scholarship for Indian students wanting to pursue their masters in Law. The scholarship award can range between a GBP 3000 to GBP 5000. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit and academic excellence. There is also a loyalty discount for returning Masters students who completed their undergraduate studies at Essex.

What is your advice to the India students who wish to study law abroad?

Be open minded; learn and follow the rules of the place you are in; make friends that will last a lifetime; develop relationships and networks that will be useful wherever you will be and from time to time; maintain a good work-life balance; and enjoy your time abroad.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

15

COVER STORY

16

ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad

Preparing Practice-Ready

Professionals

By Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest November 2019

17

Higher Education Digest November 2019

18 The ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad with its excellent infrastructure, competent and qualified faculty, best teaching methods and learning tools, quality curriculum blended with practical learning ensures that students joining the law programs will have great learning satisfaction and exposure to the challenging complex business issues.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

T

he presence of an excellent legal education system is extremely important for any country to make a lawabiding society. Today, there are several opportunities for those who have been gone through the invaluable experiences that legal education can offer. Dr. AV Narsimha Rao, Director of ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad, opines, “Legal education plays a significant role in promoting social justice and in carving out next-generation lawyers. Every legal professional has multi-dimensional facets in the society as a policymaker, business advisor, negotiator, mediator, and law professional.” Undoubtedly, horizons of legal education have spread with limitless boundaries warranting continuous learning.

In the present era of information, knowledge capitalism, economic liberalization, and globalization, the legal profession has acquired importance and relevance to resolve and provide solutions for business and governance complexities. However, lack of infrastructure and human resources are hindrances in providing quality education to students of law. Dr. Rao adds, “The law schools face acute shortage of trained and competent law teachers to impart 21st century skill sets to the students desiring to opt for the legal profession. The ICFAI Law School always endeavors

and selects qualified, competent and trained teachers to shape required knowledge of the law – theory and practice and carve-outs efficient lawyers for tomorrow.”

Since its inception, ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad - a constituent of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education - has been functioning with an agenda of imparting quality legal education and has been shaping the legal professionals with excellence to cater to the needs of various constituents of the society. Excellent teaching blended with an effective research and practical training, are the priorities for the ICFAI Law School.

“Now, many of our students are practicing as advocates in High Court from day one of their enrolment in the Bar. Our students have also received scholarships and a complete (100 percent) fee waiver for studying higher education (LLM Program) in Queen’s College, UK,” claims Dr. Rao. The Practice-Ready Professionals Today, the corporate and business world is looking for skilled law graduates in a job-ready format who can respond quickly and able to resolve critical contemporary legal problems. The ICFAI Law School is at the forefront of training the law students and equipping them with the core skills necessary to understand clients’ and society’s requirements. The institute arranges practical training classes for every week for Moot Courts, Client Counselling, mediations and negotiations processes under the supervision and guidance of retired High Court and District Court Judges and frequent intracolleges and inter-college competitions.

Dr. Rao shares, “We always encourage the students to take part in national/ international level competitions every year and support the eleven student clubs organized and managed by the students under the guidance of faculty having expertise in the relative field.”

Indeed, the curriculum of the ICFAI Law School is designed to have theory and practice in equal ratio. It helps the students in gaining practical knowledge. “We have taken utmost care in designing the curriculum

19

Dr. AV Narsimha Rao, Director

Higher Education Digest November 2019

20

and evaluation components to keep pace with the fast-changing times and demands of the industry and profession. We have premeditated innovative teaching methods and augmented necessary learning resources to shape the careers of students in response to the dynamics of the world,” pinpoints Dr. Rao. While the law schools are moving towards capacity building on their own to shape the legal professionals compatible with those passing out from wellknown law schools of the world, the ICFAI Law School has made a significant progress in this direction by augmenting world-class infrastructure facilities, library resources, and other required resources to provide high quality legal education.

With its excellent infrastructure, competent and qualified faculty, the best teaching methods and learning tools, quality curriculum blended with practical learning, ICFAI Law School ensures that students joining the law programs will have great learning satisfaction and exposure to challenging complex issues. The excellent and continuous teaching and learning process, student-centric and industry friendly dynamic curriculum and real-life exposure are some of the important initiatives of law school. “The law school endeavors with diversified teaching methodologies, internships, industrial interface and networking with professionals, excellent placements and career-oriented training, class of art infrastructure facilities and learning environment throws out an open platform for students of all walks of life to acquire the required knowledge and accomplish their goals,” claims Dr. Rao. The institute provides a blend of knowledge of theory and practice in law, management, humanities and technology by 360 degrees learning model to equip the students for the 21st century challenges. It also strives to inculcate the habit of continuous learning, and implant advocacy skill sets exponential professional expertise.

“The quality of the teachers is the key input for generating the best legal professionals to serve the needs of the nation. We choose the faculty members from a very big pool of applications after screening at a different level and never compromise on the qualification,

Higher Education Digest November 2019

21

experiences (research and teaching) of the faculty members,� explains Dr. Rao. ICFAI Law School always encourages the law faculty to write research articles, institutional development, industry / professional networking, students grooming, by awarding incentives, variable pay packages and deputing them to national/international conferences. In addition to that, the faculty members would also get the opportunity to present a seminar in the presence of the peer group on various topics of current developments. Dr. Rao adds, “Sharing of knowledge among the groups is essential.

We regularly arrange expert/guest lectures by the legal professionals including judicial officers, senior advocates, CEOs (law managers) to provide real-life situations and practical knowledge to the students.

The interface of the students, faculty with legal profession develops networking and helps in internships and placements. For this purpose, ICFAI Law School has signed MoUs with FICCI, Bar Council and Bar Associations, NGOs and other government agencies. For instance, the ICFAI Law School is organizing international conferences jointly with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Society of Insolvency Practitioners

Higher Education Digest November 2019

of India (SIPI) and few others. Dr. Rao shares, “We have collaboration and MoUs with national and international universities and institutions. Our students are deputed to some of the institutions having MoU for higher studies and internships.”

The ICFAI Law School has been identified as a center for providing training every year to the senior forest officers of different states of the country by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Dr. Rao adds, “We had the opportunity to conduct round table conference of insolvency professional of south India along with IBBI. The ICFAI Law School is a member of International Law Schools and participating in the regional and global deans’ conferences.”

22

Helping to Find a Rewarding Career ICFAI Law School has a student-centric approach.

The Career Guidance Cell having expert faculty, soft skill trainers and industry representatives trains the students to achieve their career goals. With the help of its industry network, law firms and legal professionals, ICFAI Law School has been able to understand the challenges of the society and motivating the students to focus on the topics of relevance. The institute is also providing special classes, tutorials and training programs to equip them to meet the needs of the career prospects. Dr. Rao says, “Nearly 30 percent of the students opt for placements and we are able to provide hundred percent placement assistance to them with remarkable pay packages. Nearly 15 of the students are

Higher Education Digest November 2019

ICFAI Law regularly conducts international conferences, which give students and faculty members the much needed global exposure.

opting for further higher studies in and abroad.” The faculty members of ICFAI Law College assist aspirants in selecting the good schools / universities and recommend them for their admission with scholarships. While the remaining students go for legal profession/litigation, the law school helps them in identifying proper law firms and advocates to pursue their practice.

On the other side, ICFAI Law School always encourages innovations and entrepreneurship. The institute organizes business and innovative idea competitions. As a result, ICFAI Law School has witnessed the embellishment of some student start-ups this year and they are a part of the incubation center of the university now. In the coming years, ICFAI Law School will revise its existing curriculum to include more streams in honors courses with a wide choice of general electives. They have also decided to add more center of excellences to the existing ones such as Centre for Excellence in Corporate and Commercial Laws, Centre for Excellence in Cyber Law, Centre for Excellence in Environmental Law and publish journals in the above areas. “The student coming out of law school is expecting to have effective communication, aptitude towards learning, best reasoning skills, logical aptitude, and analytical skills, creativity and adaptability. With the above skillsets, he will be successful not only in professional life but also in the personal life,” concludes Dr. Rao.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

23

INDUSTRY PERCPECTIVE

Impact of Technology in Modern Education Pooja Vasudev, VP - Business Development, Epaathsala

Pooja Vasudev has an experience of over 5 years in compliance and quality assurance for colleges and universities in India and Australia and handled over 150 projects. She has completed her B.E from KIT before joining Campus.technology as a business development and operations executive. Currently she works as Vice President Business Development and Operations.

She believes that her strength comes solely from her tenacity, this is what drives her to stay awake for 2 days straight if need be when there is a project deadline. She also believes that there should be a right balance between work and having fun in life which led to her going on a skiing trip in the snowy mountains of Australia, zip lining in the mountains and coming back to work the next day to handle her clients.

24

Higher Education Digest November 2019

T

Technologies such as AI and ML help to provide targeted support to the students of the institution

he top trends in education sector for academic year 201920 is blended learning. It is important for the educational institutions and faculties to understand that learning happens outside the boundary of the classroom. So many institutions India and abroad are resorting to ICT based tools such as LMS, virtual classroom where faculties are taking classes at their convenient time and the students are joining classes from various locations. At the same time, there are various innovative teaching learning methodologies such as Problem Based Learning, Case Studies, Group Discussion, Internship, Field Visit and many more, which are part of the evaluation system for holistic development of the students.

Technologies such as AI and ML help to provide targeted support to the students of the institution. For example, using ML based tools, it is easy to analyze the past performance data of the students linking to their demographics, extracurricular and co-curricular activities and it is possible to create a model.

Using the model, an AI based tool can easily predict the likely performance of a student or the areas that would require additional support for a student well in advance and address the learning needs through various methodologies such as bridge course, remedial coaching, personal counseling and many more.

ICT is a trend that is also mandated by various accreditation agencies. Lack of adoption of ICT by the institution for its infrastructure or by the faculties for teaching learning methodologies may potentially penalize an institution for getting a good grade in NAAC accreditation for example. At the same time, ICT makes it easier for the faculties to deliver topics and it makes it easier for the students to learn it. The major challenge for academicians is adoption of technology and the required infrastructure. Till today there are many institutions in major cities that do not have proper internet bandwidth. Or there are locations where internet is not available. At the same time there are many faculties who are not very familiar with technology. Training the faculties to adopt technology is also a major effort that is to be addressed for many institutions.

Importance of Could-based Accreditation Management for an Institution Accreditation usually is a complex process that requires creating reports, collecting documents, creating supporting documents and implementing quality improvement processes.

The process of data collection and creating reports involves all stakeholders. Also implementing many quality processes manually takes lot of time. For example, there are various type of feedback that the institution needs to implement along with

Higher Education Digest November 2019

25

A software like Epaathsala supports all ICT modules for accreditation making it easy for the college to comply with all requirements

26

analysis report or creating attainment report for all courses and programs. A cloud-based tool like Epaathsala makes the accreditation process extremely easy. For example, every stakeholder gets username and password and they can enter data and supporting documents from their portal.

The software automatically creates the required reports and supporting documents.

Secondly, often the data is linked in multiple criteria. If there is any change in one data that requires recompilation of many metrices. In manual process, it is easy to overlook some metrices for any change in any data point, especially when there are many changes, or it is close to submission deadline. In a software, the mapping is automatic. So, once one data point is updated, all related metrices are automatically updated. Thirdly, all related ICT based quality improvement processes are in built in the software.

Traditional ERP software do not support accreditation modules completely. A software like Epaathsala supports all ICT modules for accreditation making it easy for the college to comply with all requirements. A traditional manual process of accreditation that takes years may be easily completed by using the tool in months. Also, the built-in campus management tool makes it easy to collect data at source as per various accreditation requirements.

For example, unless the out of state students do not submit the required documents.

What Do We Do? Epaathsala has started in 2014 with an aim to improve the quality of education through accreditation and

Higher Education Digest November 2019

standardization of processes through accreditation. The first of its toll in India, the software was initially used by few premiere institutions in India for accreditation management. Epaathsala was funded by Times Internet and Hyderabad Angels and later it launched the modules for complete campus automation and multiple accreditation management. Today every institution needs to submit report for multiple compliances and accreditations. A manual process may take more time and may lead to discrepancies of data submitted for various accreditation. Epaathsala makes it easy by catering to multiple accreditations with a task-based workflow.

Faculties upload data only once, and all reports for various accreditations are automatically created.

Epaathsala has now launched TQA, or Total Quality Assurance Program, under which, apart from assisting with accreditation, Academic and Administrative Audit, Green Audit, we are also assisting institutions to implement quality processes, value added courses, internships for students, career counseling and so on.

Technology is the need of the hour. We completely understand the reluctance, more to do with resistance to change and fear of unknown. However, technology is a tool and a great enabler, using technology you could improve your efficiency many folds. So, my advice to institutions would be rather than treating technology as unknown black hole, adapt it gradually and use it to your benefit. Faculties already are involved in complex tasks, learning or using technology is much easier compared to what they do every day. (As told to the Editor)

27

Higher Education Digest November 2019

28

Higher Education Digest November 2019

T

aking up law studies opens a plethora of career opportunities for students. Unsurprisingly, many youngsters are now opting for the law.

Any aspirants with good communication skills, keen and logical reasoning, analytical skills and capacity to read and imbibe – legal professional is the place to be. Preparing students to become experts, Indian has numerous law schools across the nation. However, getting into these law schools is not an easy task.

Every law aspirant needs to clear an entrance exam to gain admission into a good and reputed law school in India. The most sought-after ones are – CLAT (For most National Law Schools), AILET (NLU-Delhi), LSAT (scores accepted by various colleges like IIT Kharagpur’s Law School, OP Jindal Global University, Amity Law School, and many more. Secondly, students should be aware of the program they need to study. The integrated

five-year graduate degree comprises bachelors of law coupled with other disciplines like BA, BSc, B.Com and B.B.A. Based on interest and proclivity and the stream studied at the HSC level, students can choose their subjects. The three-year law degree can be pursued by a graduate from any discipline. In the end, when the curriculum divides into specializations like corporate law, intellectual property law, criminal law and many more, students must be clear about what they need to do in their future.

In this issue, we have come up with a list of ’10 Must-Watch Law Colleges in India’ that have been producing generations of students who can be instrumental in changing laws, policies and regulations to promote reforms in society. We sincerely hope that our efforts will help the law aspirants in India to make informed decisions about their study destination

Higher Education Digest November 2019

29

College Name

City

State

Amity Law School

Noida

Uttar Pradesh

Army Institute of Law

Mohali

Punjab

Bangalore

Karnataka

Haldia Law College

Haldia

West Bengal

ICFAI Law School

Hyderabad

Telangana

Indore

Madhy Pradesh

Ahmedabad

Gujrat

Sonipat

Haryana

Bangalore

Karnataka

Pune

Maharashtra

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar College of Law

Indore Institute of Law

Institute of Law Nirma University

Jindal Global Law School

School of Law, Christ University

Symbiosis Law School

Higher Education Digest November 2019

31

HALDIA LAW COLLEGE

The Eastern Marvel of Legal Education in India 32

Higher Education Digest November 2019

A

degree in law opens many doors. The aspirants can not only practice as a lawyer in the courts, but also can look for career options in sectors like corporate management, legal services, and administrative services. However, the Indian legal education system faces many challenges now. “The completion of the long-term course of Five Years and Three Years in Law have become a big challenge to the law students in today’s scenario. Considering the vast parameter of law curriculum required to be mastered for Lawyers, Magistrates, Judges, Law Officers and many more, the duration of the course is appropriate. However, to make the course more attractive towards the students, we are trying our level best to introduce more practical based activities so that the students will be more familiar with the activities in the courts and the challenges they would face after entering their professional life,” opines Dr. Laxman Chandra Seth, Chairman, Haldia Law College.

Established in 2002 by Indian Centre for Advancement of Research and Education (ICARE), Haldia Law College (HLC) is one of the premier legal institutes in Eastern India. Affiliated to Vidyasagar University, HLC provides the scope of depth in study and research in the interactive dimensions of law and society. The institute not only looks at law as an instrument for social change and human well-being but also considers law as an effective managerial tool for rule-based economic governance. Dr. Seth explains, “The vision of the college is to uphold the national prospect by providing quality legal education where in the rhythms of understanding of social transformation are vibrantly inculcated by creating an incredible academic endeavor to evolve legal laurels and professional thus blooming en route for a didactic distinction in our society.”

The basic mission of the establishment of HLC is to indoctrinate the Indian Sprit “Satya Meva Jayate” and to facilitated learners to develops as intellectually augmented and ethically correct things. The institute supports the student to be honest, decent, socially responsible and put them towards knowledge generation and its propagation. “We uphold to disseminate education in course of national integration and encourage entrepreneurship through value-based learning to make good professionals in law and trained them to become globally ready for their profession with dignity,” shares Dr. Pradeepta Kishore Sahoo, Principal, HLC. The college proceeds with a new perspective of pedagogy/lesson plan to enrich the students with a strong theoretical base of the subject as well as practical knowledge for due transmission of professional service to society.

“In the wake of decentralization and liberalization of economy, students required exploration of knowledge in an unprecedented unit.

The sole mission of our institution is to promote quality education which will empower the students to resistant racist and anti-discriminatory practice anywhere in the society,” pinpoints Dr. Sahoo. While India

33 Dr. Laxman Chandra Seth, Chairman

Higher Education Digest November 2019

34

holds definite socio-economic advantages among the developing nations of the world and non-availability of skilled labor is now a reality, HLC is standing as an exception by implementing and introducing practical knowledge by way of intra-college or semester wise moot court competitions, sending students to courts with the help of teacher for observation of trial, sending final year students to advocates chamber for pre-trial preparation. Dr. Sahoo adds, “We are also arranging legal awareness camp in rural areas inside and outside the district with the active participation of Students and Teachers with the help of Senior Advocates of Local Bar, through District Legal Services authority along with the village sarpanch and people of that area.”

In order to develop thinking abilities and memorizing capabilities, HLC conducts Debate, Quiz, Aptitude Test, Essay Competitions among the students.

The college strives to instill civic responsibility in the mind of the students through extension programs and value-based courses so that they develop into sensitized socially responsible lawyers. “We take efforts to create a common platform for all students to provide opportunities for appearing common competitive examinations like, Judicial Exam, Law Officers, LL.M. Entrance Exam, Bar Examination and other law and non-law examinations,” claims Dr. Sahoo.

HLC has highly motivated, well qualified and dedicated teaching faculty members, who are forever

Advocate Sudipton Seth, Vice Chairman

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Dr. Pradeepta Kishore Sahoo, Principal using their ingenuity to devise ways and means for making the UGC curriculum as interesting as possible. The faculty members of HLC always give their best efforts and proper care to create a healthy academic atmosphere in terms of research and aptitude culture among the students. Dr. Sahoo says, “The teachers are aware of the capabilities and limitations of the students. They prepare and deliver lectures accordingly, as a result, students would get a clear concept about the topics and teachers would get direct feedback on the effectiveness of their teaching.”

The teachers of HLC are constantly in the process of upgrading themselves and their methods of teaching through regular participation in regional, national and international seminars/workshops and conferences, besides the faculty development programs organized by college management each year. “We also have so many functional committees; the faculties are the members of the said committee, but the committee will function with the active participation of the students. Students representative are also included into some of the committee such as Library management committee, Moot Court Committee, Students forum, Alumni Committee to help them and to develop leadership qualities,” pinpoints Dr. Sahoo.

Today, HLC offers a highly advanced curriculum of five years integrated B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) Course, three years LL.B. Course and two years LL.M. Course, making it one of the few premier law institutes in the eastern region of India that extends all the above-mentioned courses simultaneously. “We have many ambitious plans for the future. Open PhD Programme in the campus, publication of journal with ISSN number and introducing some short-term Certificate/Value-added Courses relating to the law are few of the immediate ones,” concludes Dr. Sahoo.

35

Higher Education Digest November 2019

INDORE INSTITUTE OF LAW

Making Lawyers with a Social Vision

36

Higher Education Digest November 2019

I

n a democratic society like India, everybody needs to know the laws. However, legal education is a broad concept, as it not only makes efficient lawyers but also creates law-abiding citizens with human values and rights. “India is constitutionally a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. We cherish the objectives of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. Our legal system plays a crucial role in upholding these ideals and hence legal education becomes the foundation, for the effective functioning of our system,” says Akshay Kanti Bam, Chairman, Icon Education Society (IES), Indore.

Indeed, the study of law must equip its students to instill basic philosophies, ideologies, and critiques that culminate in the creation and delivery of a ‘just’ society, instead of giving a robust knowledge of the constitution of the land, techniques for practice, skills and competencies. That is what IES seeks to achieve. As a first step to achieve its objectives, IES in 2003, decided to set up an exclusive and independent college to provide specialized, high-quality Law education for professionals, coupled with all basic infrastructure facilities.

Indore Institute of law is the first independent and exclusive college of law in Indore, affiliated to the Bar Council of India and Devi Ahilya Vishvidhyalaya (DAVV), Indore. With a modest beginning in 2003, Indore Institute of Law has grown exponentially in the last 16 years under the able leadership and guidance of Akshay Kanti Bam who has received many prestigious awards, including Captains of Industry Award 2015 from Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 by Madhya Pradesh Entrepreneur and Excellence Award, Indore 2016.

Today, the Indore Institute of Law is the only private college in Madhya Pradesh that offers a complete suite of law courses under one roof. The institute offers five-year law courses including B.A. LL.B and B.B.A.LL.B, along with three-year LL.B (Hons) and two years

masters LL.M. Akshay claims, “Our faculty members focus on 360-degree development of students. Our Teaching pedagogy covers regular Assignments, Project work, Research work, Article Publication, Paper Presentation, weekly test, Crash Course and Pre-University Test before University exams. As a result, our students are getting top rank in university exams.” The institute’s classroom teaching of law is blended with moot sessions, assignments that invoke students for preparation of PPTs, and encourage library reading, regular sessions on current affairs with special emphasis on burning topics of legal importance, literary sessions to encourage research and many more.

“We also groom the students on various aspects of their personality by modules on soft skills development. The result is apparent with the placements of students ranging from corporate and legal firms to service at domestic and international courts of law,” shares Akshay.

The legal studies at Indore Institute of Law are limited to domestic practices. The college has a dedicated student exchange program that allows its students to have exposure to global law practices. “We take our students for academic visits to The International Court of Justice, Hague and The International Criminal Court, Hague, Netherlands. This exposure helps the students to improve their language learning, enhance their intercultural skills, and polish their selfreliance and self-awareness,” explains Akshay.

What makes Indore Institute of Law truly unique and a leader in law education in India is an array of opportunities that they offer to their students for better practical exposure coupled with theoretical learning. The institute provides International Clinical Training to their students in the way of In-house Clinics, Externship Clinics, Independent Clinical Programs, Pro Bono Programs and various Competency Development Programs like MUN (Model United Nations), Parliamentary Debate, Arbitration and Mediation, Legal Essay Writing, Trial Advocacy, Blogging,

Higher Education Digest November 2019

37

Akshay Kanti Bam, Chairman

38

Documentary Competition, Client Counseling and many more throughout the year.

Akshay says, “The objective of organizing such events is to give the students a rich exposure which helps them in building their confidence and this further helps the students in developing the required skill sets necessary for their legal profession. This also helps them in developing nexus/networking, as advocacy is all about networking.”

Student engagement for knowledge enhancement at Indore Institute of Law is through various ways like classroom training, training through industry interaction, skill assessments and counseling and feedback sessions, mock interviews, opportunity-based training and many more. In order to develop participation, team building and leadership skills, Indore Institue of Law has formed various student-run committees that are governed by the

Higher Education Digest November 2019

student council. These student run committees include Election Commission, Literary Society, Moot Court Society, Event Management Society, Sports Society, Online Society, Placement Society, Alumni Society, and Legal aid Society.

On the other side, Students at Indore Institute of Law undergo a very rigorous internship process for holistic development and getting insights on the real work environment related to their career interests and choices. Various internship opportunities are offered to students during their five-year integrated course, right from their first year, in the form of – Judicial clerkships, Legal Clinics, Clerkships at reputed law firm, Corporate Houses and LPOs / Academic research. “We organize a well-layered structure of educational visits for students to right from the District Courts to High Courts, Supreme

Court and even International Court of Justice – The Hague, Netherlands, Consumer Forums, Human Rights Commission, Parliament, Law Firms, LPOs, PSUs and Corporates,” adds Akshay.

During the past five years, many bright and talented students of Indore Institute of Law have been placed in some of the top companies and law firms in India. These include Trans India Law associates, QUISLEX, Mind Crest, India Shelter Finance, IP Leaders, VIS LEGIS, Ranbaxy and many more. Students who placed are drawing handsome salary packages in the range of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 9 lakhs per annum. Akshay proudly claims, “Being a part of Judiciary as Civil Judges, ADPOs, PPOs, Member of Parliament are the major achievements of our students. Some of our students have also become researchers and written books on Cyber Security.”

Since its inception, Indore Institute of Law has been raising the level of law education in the country to that of any international law university, as they have realized that a college is not just only about the academics, but stands for the overall development of the students. “We are going to focus on rounding the students’ personalities, income social status, self-esteem a bit more. While academics is one aspect of it, we are also trying to increase the exposure from the current level. I have

39

many plans for the same,” mentions Akhays. One of the plans of Indore Institute of Law is collaborating with reputed legal firms in order to offer the students even better internships, which could result in better placements. They also plan on furthering the Moot Court culture in their college by training and encouraging students to participate in the national-level moot court competitions. “We will try to inculcate the students for future-oriented subjects such as Cyber Laws, Maritime Laws Space Laws, Intellectual Property Rights and many more. In the end, I plan on developing a better relationship to inculcate development into the system and to improve it in a holistic manner,” concludes Akshay.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

ACADEMIC VIEW

Yet Another Milestone 40

By Parveen Shaikh, Principal, The Somaiya School

Parveen Shaikh is a Developmental Psychologist. She received her Master’s in ‘Human Development’ from Nirmala Niketan and her post graduate Diploma in ‘Education Management’ from SNDT. In a career spanning over nearly seventeen years, she has donned a variety of caps in the field of Early Childhood Care & Education, as a teacher, university lecturer, preschool head and Teacher trainer.

Her areas of expertise include coaching, mentoring and professional development of pre-service and in-service

Higher Education Digest November 2019

teachers, guiding reflective researchbased practices, guiding and designing developmentally appropriate curriculum, designing classroom layouts, school supports and audit. She has worked with reputed institutes across Mumbai.

Prior to joining us she was working with Birlaedutech, as a manager for training and teacher support.

She strongly professes the importance of early years in the life of a child. She believes in setting high standards and works towards achieving them.

41

E

xams are as stressful for students as they are for parents these days. I have seen parents keep their life on hold because their child is appearing for a board exam.

Mothers take long leaves and sometimes take a drop from their careers to ensure they are around for their child who is appearing for the board exam. For many students, study leave is the most torturous time of their life because every minute of their day is closely scrutinized by their parent. Some felt they were under house arrest, as their parents did not allow them to meet their friends, go out to play and lead a normal day.

These attempts from parents to “maximize the time� before exams and push for success is often counterproductive. Students see the period before the declaration of results as their only time to breathe and relax as the result will bring with it yet another period of stress and anxiety.

Higher Education Digest November 2019

While there is nothing wrong with feeling proud of your child’s success but tying your identity to their accomplishments is detrimental

42

Higher Education Digest November 2019

Psychoanalyst Eric Fromm rightly said, “Few parents have the courage and independence to care more for their children’s happiness than for their success”. It is often seen that parents see their child’s success or failure as their own.

Over a period of time, parents, are seen to have closely tied their self- esteems and their worth as a parent to their child’s performance.

Any failure is seen as their failure as a parent. Alfie Kohn in his book ‘Unconditional Parenting’ talks about a phenomenon known as BIRG (Basking in Reflected Glory), parents who derive a vicarious sense of vindication from the success of their kids. While there is nothing wrong with feeling proud of your child’s success but tying your identity to their accomplishments is detrimental.

Students often experience tremendous amount of stress while waiting for the results. Some of the common signs of stress are complaints of headache or stomach ache, insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, not enjoying activities they previously enjoyed, and displaying signs of hopelessness.

The period before the results are declared is very crucial and it is a good time for both the parent and child to prepare for what is to come.

Keep Calm and help your child remain calm: As parents, it’s important that you keep calm, children pick up parental anxieties and it adds to their stress. Be available to talk when they are ready to. Reflect back how they are probably feeling e.g. “I can see you are stressed, it is understandable”.

Acknowledge their feelings.

Have Realistic Expectations: You know your child better than anyone else. Keep your expectations aligned to your child’s past performances.

Many students, regardless of their intelligence and preparations are not good exam takers. Remind yourself and your child, that this is an important milestone in their life, which they are successfully crossing. The marks or grades do not define their worth.

Assure your child of your support, no matter what their marks.

Your child’s performance is nobody’s business: The stress of facing the friends and relatives and the nameless “they” and what will they say about your child’s performance and you as a parent can be very debilitating. Your child’s exam results do not define your social status. Be positive and firm and support your child. Do not compare your child to anyone else’s.

Your child is unique with his/ her own special gifts and capabilities, which cannot be measured by an exam.

Plan to celebrate your child’s efforts and not marks: Plan along with your child beforehand, how you are going to celebrate this important transition and milestone in your child’s life with the family. Reassure your child that the celebration will be to acknowledge and appreciate the effort and hard work put in by the child, regardless of their marks.

Let this experience act as a springboard to catapult your child into a beautiful world of possibilities, where every child is capable of fulfilling his/ her dreams.

Be your child’s anchor and enjoy the journey.

43

Higher Education Digest November 2019

44

Higher Education Digest November 2019