Jindal and Indiana University plan student, faculty exchanges; expansion of programs
Center welcomes Prof. C. Raj. Kumar, O. P. Jindal Global University
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law welcomed Prof. C. Raj. Kumar, vice chancellor of O.P. Jindal University, to Bloomington the week of April 11, as the two schools strengthened existing ties and finalized plans for new programs benefiting students and faculty from each school.
Kumar met with Austen Parrish, dean of the law school; Prof. Jayanth Krishnan, director of the school's Center on the Global Legal Profession, and with Lauren Robel, executive vice president of Indiana University and provost of IU Bloomington, a former dean of the law school. They reviewed and celebrated the successes of the schools' current partnerships, which include:
- The JD/LLB program, the first of its kind in India, which enables students to earn a JD from the Maurer and an LLB from Jindal in four years and one summer;
- A scholarship program providing $20,000 scholarships and a mentor program for Jindal students interested in earning an LLM at the Maurer School of Law, in one of the longest-running LLM programs in the US;
- More than 12 faculty teaching visits to Jindal Global Law School since its founding in 2009;
- A vibrant student exchange program between the Maurer School of Law and Jindal Global Law School, which has sent and received more than 15 Maurer and Jindal students for semester exchanges since 2013;
- The Stewart Fellows Overseas Externship Program, which has sent more than 50 law students to India for summer externships in law firms, judges' chambers, and non-government organizations;
- A new partnership between Maurer's Center for Intellectual Property Research and Jindal's Centre for Intellectual Property and Technology Law, in which students from both schools will collaborate on publishing IP Theory, the CIPR's scholarly journal. IP Theory will will publish the proceedings of a recent conference held at Jindal on the interface between intellectual property and competition law in India;
- Other academic activities, including jointly hosting two international conferences in three years, the first of which saw the inauguration of the program on the global legal profession and the release of the commemorative issue of the Jindal Global Law Review; as well as hosting Professor Kumar at IU as the 2010 George P. Smith, II Distinguished Visiting Professor.
Krishnan and Kumar further announced the formation of an affiliated faculty program between Jindal and the Center on the Global Legal Profession; forthcoming visits to IU by Jindal faculty; and a trip to Jindal's Delhi campus by Dean Parrish in the fall of 2016.
"We are delighted to continue to build our partnership with Indiana University," Kumar said. "With its renowned international study programs and its focus on globalization, the Maurer School of Law is an ideal place for tomorrow's global lawyers to complete their Jindal education."
"We regard India as one of the most important and forward-looking countries in the world," said Krishnan. "We are grateful to Jindal for making opportunities available to our students and faculty to explore and understand India's crucial role in the global economy."
Parrish noted that Jindal Global Law School and the Maurer School of Law are two of a handful of schools worldwide that have aggressively embraced the changes occurring with globalization of the legal profession. "Professor Kumar is one of those rare, incredibly creative and visionary leaders, who has done tremendous things for Jindal," Parrish said. "His friendship with IU goes way back, and each year we're honored to host some of India's most impressive students."