Interview: Dr. Prabal Pratap Singh, Associate Professor at Prestige Institute of Management|Collegedunia

Interview by Yash Panchal

Dr. Prabal Pratap Singh is presently Associate Professor in Law in Prestige Institute of Management. He is awarded his Ph.D. in the area of Criminal Law in 2010 from Jiwaji University, Gwalior. He has qualified UGC-NET and is a law post graduate with Dual Specialization in Tort and Criminal Law from Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar, and Madhya Pradesh, India. He is a gold medalist in LL.B. from Kanpur University in 1999. He is also a Bronze Medalist.

Prior to this Institute, he was working as Assistant Professor/In Charge Principal of Law in Madhav Law College Gwalior. He has also presented his articles in various academic and professional conferences. 24 Students have completed their dissertations under his guidance. He is notified as a research guide by Jiwaji University, Gwalior in the field of Law.

Dr. Singh’s experience in the education industry

There are many advantages of working in the education industry. A few of the most notable include:

Exposure to Multiple Perspectives: Jobs in education tend to expose employees to a wide variety of perspectives and many different opinions.

Stable Schedule: Employees in the education sector can rely on a reliable work schedule with stable hours and little overtime.

Personal Fulfillment: Employees directly impact the future of India and have a chance to instill knowledge in large groups of the population.

Interpersonal Interactions: Those that choose to enter the education sector develop close relationships with their coworkers, students, and academic community.

Dr. Singh’s philosophy of leadership

My philosophy of leadership is very simple, to manage success, and even more importantly, a failure because success is the result of teamwork. In a single line, we can say a single person can achieve for himself but with your team, you can achieve for society. So, always make a strong team. So, I always do my work with my effective and creative team.

Significant challenges faced as the Associate Professor in Law in Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior

Department of Law, Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior has to meet the demands of the changing global society. The prevalent methods of training imparted by traditional law institutes should be thoroughly re-examined. The biggest challenge is preparing the students to stand in the global arena and contend the contemporary legal challenges. We have faculties with global exposure who are defending their research internationally. This will certainly raise the bar for global standards of legal education.

Dr. Singh on his management of time

I manage my time as per National Curriculum requirements and all the revisions and statutory requirements for assessment, recording, reporting. This is on top teaching hours per day; preparing the work; marking; mounting and displaying work; keeping accurate records of both subject coverage and pupil achievement; attending staff meetings, parents' meetings, cluster meetings; attending courses and workshops; administering a department or curriculum area, etc.

Some insight on time management:

Planning - Plan my lessons; Plan my whole day; Plan a week at a time; Arrange tasks in priority order; Have a 'to do' list; Set the in my diary for – marking; planning; preparing work; mounting work; reading; writing reports; telephone calls; Email etc.

Curriculum of Prestige Institute of Management

The motto of the revised and updated curriculum is to learn the law and legal principles in a variety of subject areas to understand concurrent legal procedure and practices; to gain basic skills in investigation and interviewing; to develop lawyering skills and to gain insight in the current legal system; to gain knowledge about the goal and qualifications of paralegal including the necessity of continuing legal education and staying abreast of changes and advancement in the paralegal career; to research case and statutory law using traditional and technological methods.

Insights on the importance of Law for Law Students

The whole concept of erecting the Department of law, PIMG is based upon the noble idea of providing Legal education that can be compared with global leaders in this field . For which global training methods have to be adopted comparable to best counterparts including Trial Moot court practices, workshops on International Banking System, Student-exchange programs, Faculty-exchange programs, tie-ups with National Law Universities and International Law Firms for greater exposure of global legal policies, etc. Through these methods, the law students will be able to bridge the gap caused by the rapid changes faced by global economies. This, in turn, will provide a better insight in the legal understanding and apply legal mind to resolve them.

Changes noticed in the Education Industry over the past few years and the skill set that a student must possess for a corporate career

One may identify, inter alia, the following factors (listed in no particular order) for the transformation of legal education in this period:

The changing demands of the legal market at the national and global levels; The establishment of new regulatory regimes in emerging areas of the economy; The emergence of new technologies, particularly in the communication sector; Growth of international trade and prospects of trade in services; The advent of corporate culture in legal practice, particularly in intellectual property rights matters; The replication of the Bangalore model of National Law Schools in many more states; The increasing demand for legal studies from among highly talented students; Changes in the legal education regulatory system (Common Law Admissions Test; All India Bar Examination; the Directorate of Legal Education in BCI); The partnership of bar, bench and academia in the management of legal education at least in the National Law School scheme; The Transformation of Indian Education The Transformation of Indian Legal Education 7 Collaboration with foreign law schools and the influence of foreign-educated lawyers; Government willingness to finance law schools and improve faculty salaries; On-campus recruitment and the institution of awards for best performing teachers and law schools by law firms; The spread of legal publications, law reporting and legal awareness; The recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (2005); Law school involvement in legal aid, human rights and clinical and experiential education.

Growth of students through placement opportunities available for Law Students at Prestige Institute of Management

The placement cell of Prestige Institute of Management is already in action. The companies who hire management students are also recruiting law officer and intern every year. We have more than 250 companies registered over for recruitments and we have signed MOUs that ensures when our current batch students would be eligible will be hired by campus selection procedure specifically for law students.

Dr. Singh on his with the students being the Associate Professor Law in Prestige Institute of Management and how he makes himself available to them

As a law associate professor, I tend to establish a relation with the students to collaboratively investigate the range of genres, modes, shifts, transformations, representations, meaning-making processes, and identities, involved in academic learning within and across academic contexts. Such understandings, when made explicit, provide greater opportunities for teaching and learning as well as for examining how such literacy practices are related to epistemological issues. Invite students to help set ground rules that will encourage positive attitudes, robust discussion, and spirited debate, while adhering to principles of respect and civility.

Ideal school environment for Dr. Singh

Each individually is relatively minor, but together, I think that they are creating the warm, nurturing environment that we seek to establish.

Top qualities that an aspiring Law Courses student must possess

The top qualities that an aspiring Law Courses student must possess should be Adaptability; Dedication; Communication; Creativity; Enthusiasm; Management; Knowledge; Organization, etc. Today, the majority of students are inclined towards law courses but what differentiates a law disciple with students of other streams is the devotion and compassion towards downtrodden part of the society which nobody else wants to even look upon.

Goals in mind for PIMG Gwalior

The future goal is to raise the research standards and establishing the institute as the global leader in legal research. In the prime motto of the institute will be creating the warm and nurturing environment to meet the demands of the changing global society.

The suggestion would be to join Law Courses to become part of the transformation of global India.