The Institute of Law, Nirma University, is probably the best place for a law aspirant. To begin with, Nirma University offers a sprawling lush green 115-acre campus, which enticed me immediately. Being an alumnus of this great University, I take great pride in identifying myself as a product and now a faculty of this law school. My life as a law student was diverse and unique as, along with the curricular exercises, Nirma additionally provides the ideal mix of curricular and extracurricular opportunities to the students. The institute has always encouraged students’ initiatives in organizing and conducting various activities.
The student representative body at the Institute of Law is the most enticing committee for all students. We, as students, took the responsibility to design, sort out, direct, and review the dealings. In this manner, we built up our authority and collaboration abilities. The cultural fest is an important part of the life of ILNUites, and it helped in the holistic development of the students who were associated with it.
In all these events, competitions, moots, conferences, guest lectures, encouragement in research work, debating, sports activities, and many more offered by the Institute, I got acclimatized to different cultures and co-curricular patterns and explored their sensitivities and finer nuances. Continuous involvement in more than one activity reflected my skills and abilities. During my 5 years with this University, I learned to prioritize my activities and time management. This diverse living molded me to have an outstanding personality, which helped me to spearhead in my career. The institute has provided me with a healthy platform to learn through experience.
I had the privilege to learn exclusive value-added, skill development, and supplementary courses like litigation advocacy to enable me to be prepared in this competitive industry. Nirma enhanced my practical and experiential learning through specially designed clinical courses and centres, especially for Corporate Law, which helped me enhance my research skills. These specialized centres gave me an opportunity to deepen and widen my knowledge under the guidance of an expert resource person in my area of interest. These research centers published many of my articles which gave me a confidence boost before I could publish in international journals. Since the legal field is not restricted only to the boundaries of the country, we had a subject on Foreign language which helped me compete internationally when it comes to interning at foreign law firms and international arbitrations. Every year, we celebrated International Teaching Week, where jurists and academicians from various countries are invited to deliver lectures and have an interactive session with us to give us a broader perspective of the legal system. In this session, we were exposed to various opportunities they had to offer in higher education, which helped me gain perspective.
Along with academics, we also had a systematic internship training program, which encouraged us to intern diligently every semester, and gave us the exposure to every field in the legal realm. The institute helped me complete internships from NGOs to lower courts to the Supreme Court. The Campus Recruitment Cell facilitated me to get internships of my choice by providing recommendation letters since I came from a “Non-Law” background. We also had the privilege to choose from the vast database of lawyers and law firms the University offered us. On a regular basis, we had field interaction with renowned lawyers, judges, law teachers, and scholars Student Membership Services, which helped us in practical knowledge along with theoretical knowledge. The institute has always been student friendly when it came to providing opportunities to participate in National, International events like seminars, moot courts, etc. The faculties were always supportive when it came to research and the Institute has always encouraged students to participate in events, which inculcated public speaking skills in me and has helped me a lot when I joined the bar. As far as placement goes, the campus recruitment cell organized seminars and CV building workshops by renowned lawyers, which kept us up-to-date with the industry standards. Most of my batch mates, including myself, were placed with the top tier law firms, thanks to the public relations Nirma University has with all law firms in India and abroad. When I decided to do my Masters in Law (LL.M), the Competitive exam corner was to my rescue. It provided such an atmosphere that facilitated me in preparing for various competitive exams, including CLAT PG, and helped me a lot in getting admission to my master’s programme.
The library is considered the heart and soul of a Law School. Our library had a collection of general and special subjects consisting of textbooks, reference books, back volumes of journals and reports, etc., apart from legal periodicals. We also had a subscription to online databases like Scopus, Westlaw India, Manupatra, Hein Online, Oxford Reports on International Law, Kluwer on Arbitration, SCC Online, CLA Online, etc. These resources were my go-to for writing research papers and publishing books/ articles.
Nirma University didn’t only help me academically, but also helped me mold myself into what I am today, as a human. Faculties were not only teachers but mentors to most of us for a lifetime. My CV was developed over a period of 5 years, which wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance of my teachers and constant encouragement from the institute.
After graduating from Nirma University and completing my Masters, I decided to come back to my roots as a faculty at the Institute of Law, Nirma University. It takes two hands to clap; we have everything a prospective law student needs, are you, as a student ready to take what we have to offer? Having the best faculties in specialized subjects like Corporate Law and Intellectual Property Rights, it’s a student who needs to be actively participating to get the most of what the University has to offer.
My only advice to all those considering coming to Nirma University is that 5 years would be a very short period of time for what all the University has to offer. From excellent infrastructure to the best library, it’s YOU who makes your future and the University that helps to develop it over a period of 5 years. So choose a Law School that best helps you to make it to where you want to reach. The sky’s the limit, and the industry has just started to develop. Nirma University is the answer to molding yourself into an all-rounder where you get the best of academics, co-curricular, extracurricular, and industry exposure. This comes right from the heart of a student who spent 5 years and didn’t get enough of this University, which forced me to rejoin to get more of what it has to offer.
Author Ms Priyanka Taktawala