Presentation Transcript

1. The role and importance of mooting:the international student’s perspectiveHEA Discipline Workshop and Seminar Series University of Leeds30 January 2013
2. Aims / purposes of the session To consider, discuss and evaluate the role and importance of mooting from the perspective of the international student To consider the particular benefits and advantages of mooting for international students To consider and review the involvement of international students in mooting activities at Leeds To discuss and share views on whether we need to do more to encourage international students to become involved in mooting
3. How important are our international students? A key theme of the University’s Strategy Map is to ‘enhance our standing as an international university’: ‘Internationalisation is a key element of our strategy, synonymous with our mission, reputation and profile as a world-class university. Our strategy emphasises the importance of enhancing our standing as a global university: through embracing internationalisation in everything we do, by maintaining one of the largest and most diverse international student cohorts in the sector, and by extending our impact and influence through world-wide strategic collaborations.’ http://strategy.leeds.ac.uk/
4. International students in the School of Law Academic year 2012-2013 383 ‘international’ students in School of Law (i.e. overseas rated, overseas home rated, EU rated students + ‘undecided assessment’)
5. International students in the School of Law Academic year 2011-2012 388 ‘international’ students in School of Law (i.e. overseas rated, overseas home rated, EU rated students + ‘undecided assessment’ (= 4 students))
6. International students in the School of Law Students originate from a wide range of countries The School has collaborative schemes with, for example, universities in Malaysia and China
7. What experiences do we want our international students to have? Another theme of the University Strategy is to ‘inspire our students to develop their full potential’: ‘Our students will graduate as confident, articulate individuals, ready to make a difference to society by using their skills and ability to learn in any context.’ http://strategy.leeds.ac.uk/objectives/inspire-our-students-to-develop-their-full-potential/ Employability Strategy: ‘The Strategy seeks to take forward activities relating to the development of the employability of our students. In the context of this strategy employability is used to: describe the achievements and capability, for each individual student, which are formed through the integration of knowledge, skills, experiences and attributes from the academic curriculum and co-curricular activities which are needed to gain graduate employment and successful career options.’ http://www.lts.leeds.ac.uk/Employability/EmployabilityStrategy.php
8. What experiences do we want our international students to have? ‘Leeds for Life’ provides the overarching focus for the broad employability activity at the University ‘Our university values’ (Leeds for Life): ‘We want you, as a Leeds graduate, to stand out by your ability to talk confidently about your attributes and skills, and the way in which these have been shaped by your academic experience and co-curricular activities.’ https://leedsforlife.leeds.ac.uk/
9. What experiences do we want our international students to have? The Law School is committed to: the successful integration of international students developing strategies to deal with the issues that can affect the learning and participation of international students and hinder their progress we want our international students to succeed academically but also to ‘make the most’ of their time in Leeds and the UK International Student Support Coordinator
10. Can any of these experiences be met/enhanced through mooting?
11. The recognised benefits of mooting Develops key skills: Research (/legal research) Interpretation Reasoning Persuasion Explanation Formulating arguments Presentation/public speaking Organisation and time management Teamwork Thinking ‘on your feet’ Builds / enhances confidence A bridge between education and legal practice Career enhancement / bolsters CV Pleasure and social element
12. Are these benefits particularly important for international students? Are these benefits sought/recognised by international students? Are there any different or extra benefits for international students?
13. Example 1 Female TPG student from China Commenced PG study at Leeds in September 2011 through collaborative scheme with ECUPL Graduated from Leeds with LLM in International Corporate Law in December 2012 Has returned to China and is now seeking position in legal practice (solicitor) On commencing studies in Leeds, had no previous experience of mooting Reached second round of LawSoc’s internal competition
14. Example 1 Chose to become involved in mooting at Leeds because: ‘[...] some of my friends did mooting in China and they enjoyed it very much. From them I understand that mooting is very intellectually demanding but it helps a lot with developing one’s critical thinking ability and analytical skills.’ ‘I did undergraduate law degree in China, but I didn’t have a chance to participate in mooting. Therefore, I decided to give it a try whilst at Leeds.’
15. Example 1 This student felt that she personally benefitted from mooting in various ways: ‘[...] as an international student, getting involved in mooting helped me to have a better understanding of English legal system, ie. the different level of court and the court procedures.’ ‘[...] advocacy skills are essential in pursuing a legal career (both barrister and solicitor). In mooting, I was able to learn to present the case as a barrister and improve the advocacy skills.’
16. Example 1 ‘[...] it helped me with the [...] marshalling experience in court. Having an idea of the legal terminologies and court procedures in mind, I was able to focus on the legal aspects of the cases during the marshalling.’ ‘It also helps to develop one’s research skills which are very important whilst studying in the UK. As I was given different scenarios involving different areas of law, i.e. family law, contract law, tort, etc, I had to do a lot of independent research upon these areas and found the answer myself.’
17. Example 1 ‘In addition to that, mooting is a very enjoyable experience during which you have a chance to make friends with different people.’
18. Example 2 Male UG student from Malaysia Entered directly into year 3 in September 2011 through collaborative scheme with HELP/INTI universities Graduated from Leeds with LLB Law in July 2012 Currently undertaking BPTC at another UK university and is continuing to moot On commencing studies at Leeds, had previous mooting experience and actively sought out information on mooting opportunities at Leeds Participated in internal senior competition (reaching the final in the Supreme Court) as well as external/national competitions (e.g. FTB Kingsland Cup and selection rounds for Jessup)
19. Example 2 Chose to become involved in mooting at Leeds because: ‘I always enjoyed mooting and I really aspired to do more of them whilst I am in the UK. Opportunity to do mooting in Malaysia are very much limited, and most of the time there are not many competitions going around, and campuses are unwilling to put in the resources to invest in these activities.’
20. Example 2 This student also felt that he benefitted from mooting in various ways: ‘I feel mooting is beneficial to ones legal education, as it not only allows us to apply the law but also to mould our advocacy skills for future purposes, e.g. the vocational course or in practice.’ ‘[...] it helps developing our research skills, our analysis on the factual scenario and the legal context, our application of the law into the facts, and also advocacy skills.’
21. Example 2 ‘It also boosted personal confidence and it can also be some sort of a motivation to perfect my skills.’ ‘I get to know a lot of friends whilst mooting in Leeds. It’s often difficult for international students to know friends from different countries, and there is a lack of such avenues for them to mingle [...]. Mooting offers me that sort of platform to know friends that have the same interest with me and I find that quite helpful.’
22. Example 2 He also stated: ‘I would encourage anyone who wants to do mooting whilst studying in the UK, particularly those who have in their mind doing the vocational courses. Although doing mooting will be time-consuming, but I would think that the reward significantly outweighs all the negative aspects of mooting one could think of.’
23. What is the reality of international student mooting at Leeds? All year 1 international students will take part in the compulsory Legal Skills moot Students on the 2 year LLB Law (Graduate Programme) do not take the Legal Skills module Students entering directly into year 2 or 3 through collaborative schemes do not take the Legal Skills module Participation in LawSoc’s internal competitions for the academic year 2011-2012: First year competition: 1 overseas home rated and 8 overseas rated students ‘signed up’ (total students = 40) with 1 overseas rated student ‘dropping out’ before the commencement of the first round (total students = 38) Senior years competition: 1 overseas home rated and 12 overseas rated students ‘signed up’ and participated (total students = 36) Majority of international students participating were UG students
24. What is the reality of international student mooting at Leeds? Academic year 2012-2013 In October 2012, 4/5 international students expressed a wish to be considered for national competitions (total students = 19)
25. If mooting provides key benefits for international students, how can we encourage further involvement? Should we encourage this? benefits and drawbacks for the Law School (and the student organisers)? too demanding, time consuming, stressful, irrelevant, expensive for the students? other extra-curricular activities are just as good/better?