Day-2: Five Days Certified Training Program on Advancing Research, Pedagogy & Practice in Legal Academia

Event Date: 3rd February 2026

Event brief description

Day 2 of the Faculty Development Programme featured three intellectually enriching sessions aimed at strengthening legal research and academic engagement. The first session, delivered by Dr. Nitesh Kumar Upadhya, focused on “Bridging Scholarship and Practice: Research-Driven Strategies for Law Faculty Members.” He emphasized integrating research with teaching and highlighted digital tools, legal databases, citation managers, and plagiarism detection platforms that enhance research quality and visibility. He also guided participants on publishing in reputable journals, maintaining academic integrity, and linking research with policy and real-world impact.

The second session on “Jurisprudential Trends in Constitutional Law” was chaired by Prof. (Dr.) Alok Misra, Vice Chancellor of Mewar University. It examined the shift from textual interpretation to value-based, transformative constitutionalism. The discussion highlighted the evolving role of the Supreme Court of India in expanding fundamental rights and the use of proportionality, reasonableness, and comparative jurisprudence in modern adjudication.

The third session, chaired by Prof. Dr. Kondaiah Jonnalagadda of Maharashtra National Law University, addressed “Interdisciplinary Legal Research.” It stressed the importance of integrating law with other disciplines, adopting empirical and socio-legal methods, and promoting collaborative, policy-relevant research to broaden academic impact and societal relevance.

Event Detailed Description

Day 2 of the Faculty Development Programme featured three intellectually enriching sessions aimed at strengthening legal research, constitutional understanding, and interdisciplinary scholarship among law faculty members.

The first session was conducted by Dr. Nitesh Kumar Upadhya on the theme “Bridging Scholarship and Practice: Research-Driven Strategies for Law Faculty Members.” The lecture focused on enhancing the research aptitude of legal educators and emphasized the importance of integrating academic scholarship with real-world legal developments. Dr. Upadhya highlighted that modern legal education requires teachers to be active researchers who contribute to legal reform, policy discourse, and societal progress. He stressed the role of research-oriented teaching in making classrooms more dynamic and relevant by incorporating recent case laws, legislative updates, comparative perspectives, and empirical insights.

A significant portion of the session was devoted to introducing essential digital tools and online platforms that facilitate high-quality legal research. These included legal databases, academic search engines, open-access repositories, citation and reference management software, and plagiarism detection tools. He demonstrated how effective use of these resources improves research efficiency, accuracy, and international academic visibility. The session also covered strategies for improving publication quality, such as identifying reputable journals, understanding indexing systems, maintaining proper citation practices, and avoiding predatory publications. Dr. Upadhya emphasized academic integrity and ethical research standards, while encouraging faculty to link research with policy engagement, socio-legal studies, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The interactive discussion provided practical guidance on research funding, collaboration, and publication planning.

The second session, titled “Jurisprudential Trends in Constitutional Law,” was chaired by Prof. (Dr.) Alok Misra, Vice Chancellor of Mewar University. This session explored the evolving approaches to constitutional interpretation, highlighting the transition from rigid textualism to purposive, value-based, and justice-oriented reasoning. The discussion emphasized transformative constitutionalism, where the Constitution is seen as a living document capable of driving social change and promoting substantive equality. The proactive role of the Supreme Court of India was underscored, particularly in expanding the scope of fundamental rights through progressive interpretations of dignity, liberty, and equality.

The session also examined the growing influence of comparative constitutional jurisprudence and international human rights principles in shaping judicial reasoning. Key doctrinal tools such as proportionality, reasonableness, and balancing of competing rights and state interests were discussed as essential features of modern constitutional adjudication. Overall, the session provided participants with a deeper understanding of contemporary constitutional thought and encouraged the incorporation of these evolving trends into teaching, research, and policy engagement.

The third session, chaired by Prof. Dr. Kondaiah Jonnalagadda of Maharashtra National Law University, focused on “Interdisciplinary Legal Research: Expanding Intellectual Horizons.” The session highlighted the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches in legal scholarship, noting that law must engage with fields such as sociology, economics, political science, technology, psychology, and environmental studies to address complex modern challenges. Prof. Jonnalagadda encouraged faculty to move beyond doctrinal research and adopt socio-legal, empirical, and policy-oriented methodologies. He offered practical guidance on designing interdisciplinary projects, building collaborative networks, and using qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The session also emphasized the academic and societal benefits of interdisciplinary scholarship, including broader publication opportunities and stronger policy relevance. Participants were inspired to integrate interdisciplinary perspectives into teaching, curriculum development, and research supervision, thereby contributing to a more holistic and socially responsive legal academia.

Department Name: School of Law

Event Outcome 

The Faculty Development Programme proved to be highly effective in enhancing the academic and professional competencies of participating law faculty members. By the conclusion of Day 2, participants gained a strengthened understanding of research-driven teaching, contemporary jurisprudential developments in constitutional law, and the growing importance of interdisciplinary legal research.

Faculty members developed improved awareness of advanced legal research methodologies, digital research tools, and ethical publication practices, enabling them to produce higher-quality and impactful scholarly work. The sessions encouraged participants to integrate recent case laws, comparative perspectives, and empirical research into classroom teaching, thereby enriching legal pedagogy and student engagement.

The programme also fostered a research-oriented academic culture by motivating participants to pursue interdisciplinary collaborations, engage in policy-oriented and socio-legal research, and contribute meaningfully to legal reform and societal development. Overall, the event successfully equipped faculty members with practical strategies, intellectual frameworks, and professional motivation to strengthen legal education, research excellence, and institutional academic standards.

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