Enters into cooperation with Law University in India
The Faculty of Law has initiated cooperation with the National Law University Delhi.
Hovedinnhold
The Faculty has received funding from the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) to develop cooperation with the Indian National Law University Delhi (NLUD). A delegation from the Faculty visited the University in Delhi for the first time in March 2015. During the visit, a cooperation agreement was signed that enables Norwegian law students to study for a semester or two in Delhi, and Indian law students to study in Bergen.
In addition to student exchange, relations will be built between academics from NLUD and Bergen. Competition law is an area that is of particular interest for cooperation and in November, a delegation from Delhi will come to Bergen to participate in a joint workshop with academics at The Faculty of Law.
A prioritised cooperation country
Dean Asbjørn Strandbakken is pleased to have signed an agreement with NLUD.
"With this agreement, we have yet another important strategic country to cooperate with in our portfolio, which is in accordance with the government's strategy. India is one of the prioritised cooperation countries for Norway," he says.
"For the students, this will be a superb opportunity and an excellent place to learn. NLUD has excellent academic offers that meet our expectations. In addition, students will experience a culture that is completely different than whatwe see in Norway and other western countries, so it will develop us both academically and as people," says the dean.
Peaceful oasis
NLUD is a young campus university that lies on the outskirts of Delhi. The University was founded in 2008, and is one of 22 national law universities in the country. There are also many other institutions in India that offer an education in law, but the national law universities are the most renowned.
The students at the university live on campus. It is a peaceful oasis in an otherwise busy, bustling metropolis. Just outside the campus, sacred cattle can be found wandering in the streets and exotic (for us) bicycle taxis wait just outside the portal.
Excellent students
During the visit in Delhi, Rasmus Wandall was invited to lecture in comparative law where he spontaneously spoke on civil law systems in Scandinavia and East Africa. Wandall says that the Indian law students were highly engaged in the lecture and that it was a delightful experience.
"The Indian students are skilled and very knowledgeable. NLUD is one of the best qualified universities in India, and the students there could easily be included in the teaching at UiB. They speak fluent English, have a strong academic starting point and quite simply, seem to be very open to discussions across countries and legal systems. Nor is there any doubt that UiB will also benefit. When qualified candidates from abroad ask questions about our legal system and our legal traditions, we learn a lot about ourselves," says Wandall.
Mutual guest lectures
Associate Professor Ronny Gjendemsjø will also be able to become more closely acquainted with Indian students. In March next year he will return to Delhi as a guest lecturer in competition law at NLUD. In the same way, students in Bergen will become more acquainted with competition law from an Indian perspective when Professor Harpreet Kaur contributes with her guest lectures in the subject "JUS258-2-B Competition Law" at the Faculty in autumn 2015. Such reciprocal lectures will be extremely valuable for both parties. In addition to students gaining a new perspective through the teaching, it will also contribute to academics from India and Bergen getting to know one another better, which again will lead to joint publications and better academic cooperation.
By Ingrid E. Tøsdal and Veronica Ljosheim