Dr. Ashwani Kumar has been working as the Director and Principal of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh. He has done BA, LLB, LLM, PGDM, NET, JRF and PhD in Law from Kurukshetra University itself as part of his academics. Also, he has 12 years of teaching experience and has published many research papers in various reputed journals at national and international level. In addition to this, he has presented research papers in various national and international level conferences. Also, he has worked as Research Supervisor in LLM dissertations and has participated in a wide variety of webinars too. 

Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions

Which latest program are you planning to offer to students to help them stand apart from the crowd?

"I am planning to provide coaching to students for Judicial and other competitive exams"

I am planning to offer Judicial coaching and training programs to our Law students to help them strengthen their knowledge and prepare for competitive exams. Because once they finish their Graduation, most of them join any coaching center to crack competitive exams, so my main objective here is to save their time, money and efforts, as some of them are economically unstable and due to their financial constraints unable to pay their expenses. So if they will get the coaching and guidance in college itself, they would be prepared fully right after finishing their Graduation. Apart from this, my aim is also to conduct various kinds of competitions like debate, extempore, moot court, quiz for students benefits and motivate them to do research work, keeping in mind their academic as well as general knowledge. Last but not the least, personality development sessions and mock Interview programs will also be organized to build students' personalities.

Which factors make the programs of your college a best fit for students?

"Associated career opportunities and learning makes each course a best fit for students"

In my opinion, students should carefully select their career as per their interest and passion. And as far as the field of Legal Education is concerned, opportunities are and will always be limitless both in India and abroad for skilled professionals. In addition to this, acquiring legal knowledge makes an individual aware of their rights and duties and also removes their fear of public speaking and communication by inculcating best skills in them which ultimately opens new horizons of growth for students. Therefore, associated growth opportunities, mentorship we offer to students and financial assistance and scholarships which are offered to eligible ones make each course unique and worth pursuing for students. 

What would you say are the best practices of courses which your institution is offering to students?

"The kind of education we offer and exposure we provide to students through competitions makes each course unique"

In order to prepare our students for the cut-throat competitive world, our college regularly organizes competitions and sessions and training programs to improve their communication skills. Because after completing Graduation in Law, candidates are free to join any sector based on their interests and capabilities, like if someone wants to become a Judicial Officer then he/she will give less priority, similarly a person with good communication skills will join Litigation sector. Overall, doors of both Government and private sectors are open for Law Graduates and hence we don't leave any stone unturned to develop students on both personal and professional fronts.

What are some valuable insights of the programs that you are offering at your institute?

"Our programs offers wide variety of options to students with respect to job and society welfare"

BA LLB is a five year integrated program that combines subjects of Humanities with Law for a rich and unique learning experience for students and also makes the curriculum professionally diverse and weighted. Apart from this, we are also offering a 3-year LLB course to aspiring students to make sure they have a wide range of career options in the legal as well as other interdisciplinary sectors and intensive study of legal aspects like Jurisprudence, Contract Laws, Legal Methods, Litigation, Environmental Law and Human Rights Laws are taught to young minds under this course. Lastly, our curriculum is developed after rigorous analysis and research of professional aspects and career growth.

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How do the programs of your college ensure better future opportunities and scope for students?

"Students can do a full time job, join Litigation or PSCs or can even start their own firms"

As far as I have observed in the education sector, our students after successfully completing their Graduation in Law can join the Litigation sector or corporate firms as a career option or they can also prepare for Public Service Commission exams and become a Judge. In addition to this, they can join Government Organizations or NGOs and engage themselves in policy formulation and regulation. But yes, let me make it very clear, an individual should have sound knowledge of Law concepts, amazing logical and analytical thinking capabilities and planning skills along with ability to work in tough deadlines. Last but not the least, Graduates can start their own private practice and work for the welfare of society and its people.

How did you train your faculty members to deliver the latest programs to students in the best possible way?

"Faculties are trained through FDPs and skill development training sessions"

For the purpose of upskilling teachers in accordance with changing technologies, teaching pedagogies, educational practices and industrial expectations, our college regularly organizes 6-weeks to 6-months duration Professional Development Programs which take place in both online and offline modes. And some of these development programs are mandatory while others are optional for teachers. Although all our faculty members are highly qualified and experienced, we felt this need to train and upgrade their knowledge only recently, because Faculty Members bring with them a diverse life and educational experiences, personalities and learning preferences and all of them ultimately shapes their teaching perspective and practices, influences how they will teach in the future, and even affect their motivation to participate in professional development activities. Therefore, there is a need to address the pressing problems and professional life issues of teachers, hence training which we offer to our teachers is a small practice towards that. 

In your opinion, how Law and Lawyers play a significant role in smooth functioning of society?

"Nowadays, Lawyers are shifting from their traditional field and becoming Entrepreneurs"

Although, Law as a profession is fraught with risks and difficulties, lawyers are laid at the door of taking unproblematic stances, especially in the corporate sector. More often than not, lawyers take neutral and riskless positions that are seen as a deterrent to risk laden professions like business. Unlike this conventional wisdom then, lawyers across the world have proven to be exceptional businessmen. CEOs of top companies, founders of Fortune 500 companies and remarkable Indian companies, have been law graduates or former lawyers themselves.

Apart from this, Lawyers and Entrepreneurs have a myriad of things in common including persuasive abilities, risk taking and research skills, market knowledge, leadership qualities and damage control skills.

Lawyers entering business and creating firms is especially pertinent at a time that is witnessing a drop in the employability. The awareness of market trends and tricks of the trade are tacitly understood by a lawyer-businessman, benefiting economically and adding to the economy simultaneously.

What challenges have you faced while inculcating new programs in your curriculum?

"Unavailability of modern infrastructure and qualified faculty members is a real challenge for us"

As far as I have observed, deficiency of modern infrastructure, unavailability of highly educated and experienced faculty members along with outdated curricula and syllabus of various subjects are major challenges we need to address every time while inculcating new courses in our curriculum.

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In your opinion, how project based learning could be beneficial for students?

"Project based learning help students to improve their communication, presentation and research skills"

We regularly assign a wide variety of mini-major projects to our students and it gives them amazing opportunities to have a focused interaction with their faculty members and researchers to acquire best learning and research skills. Project based learning is also useful as it helps students to improve their communication, writing, leadership, initiative, problem-solving, presentation, public speaking, delegation, decision-making and team-building skills and due to a deadline associated with each project, it also teaches students how to effectively utilize their time without compromising on quality. It also builds a competitive spirit which is very useful in today’s world and listening to other teams presentations and understanding their projects helps in widening and deepening students' own knowledge. Lastly, project based learning helps in creating graduates who are knowledgeable, critical and analytical thinkers, best communicators, collaborators, mediators and arbitrators. 

What career options would be available to students after pursuing courses from your college?

"Students can become a full time Advocate, Legal Advisor in both Government or private sector"

As we know that in the present scenario it is mandatory that everyone should have a better knowledge of law so that he /she can be aware of their rights and duties. Another benefit of Law is that if anyone tries to violate the rights of somebody then they can easily defend themselves. So after successfully completing our LLB and integrated BA LLB course, students will have a wide range of opportunities and they can work as a Advocate, Legal Advisor, Judiciary, Teacher, Legal Analyst, Legal Researcher or can even join government services like ADA, DDA and DA, private companies, higher education sector and politics. Apart from this, they can become a Writer and write Law Books, Journalist or can even pursue higher education courses like LLM.