The Gujarat National Law University has initiated a vibrant ‘Scholar-in Residence program’ which allows academicians, Senior Advocates, Foreign Service officers, Judges and Members of Parliament to come to the University to engage in research, teach, produce and publish research articles for in house journals during the semesters in GNLU. The program allows Professionals to explore new dimensions in their disciplines, to engage in intellectual exchange while making use of the facilities provided by the university, to broaden their own research expertise, as well as enrich the teaching and research at GNLU. The program which was conceptualized by the Director, Prof. Dr. Bimal N Patel, was started with the objective to significantly contribute to the existing intellectual environment in GNLU as they share their experience as well as to create, build, and consolidate GNLU expertise. GNLU has a certain target audience for this "Scholar-in-Residence" programme. The University invites application / LOI (Letter of Interest) from the Judiciary, Bureaucrats, Ambassadors, Academicians as well as Corporate professionals. The University will be pleased to host retired judges of Supreme Court or any High Courts, Practicing or retired Advocates / Attorneys and even legal professionals from the corporate world / law firms. The Scholar-in-Residence can be associated with the Centres of Excellence of GNLU as per his / her areas of interest / specialization. He / she can be a Member in any of the Centres of Excellence of the University and extensively involved in research activities and contribute to publication as well.
Speaking to LiveLaw, Dr. Joshua Aston, Assistant Professor of Law and Coordinator of the program remarked that, “as part of strong research culture at GNLU, we have introduced the “Scholar-in-Residence” programme. The major objective of the “Scholar-in-Residence” programme is to expand and share the knowledge and expertise. This will also give an opportunity to learn about the academic and research culture of the University and further get an opportunity to interact with the students, faculty and staff members of the University”. He added that the scholars would receive monetary incentives as well as accommodation in the University campus and access to the University library and its learning resources. He explained that the program isn’t a job but as a honorary research position where the scholar will be involved in teaching and research in his / her areas of interests or specialization and share the knowledge and expertise with the students.Dr Aston also added that, GNLU being a research powerhouse has a rich blend of knowledge and expertise and hence has proved to be a converging place for professionals and experts in various fields and thus has been enriching the knowledge database of the university thereby creating a knowledge bankand as a step further, the "Scholar-in-Residence" programme will definitely prove to be beneficial in the research initiatives of the University.
The Application Period for the program would be any time during the year with the application process period of 2 weeks and the duration of this programme is 2 weeks to 2 months during which one can contribute in the research and sharing the knowledge in their areas of interest and / or specialization.
Interested applicants, can contact Dr. Joshua Aston, Assistant Professor of Law at jaston@gnlu.ac.in