New NUS Law Academy to hone legal skills of professionals in Singapore

NUS Law announced the establishment of the NUS Law Academy on 12 November 2018. The new setup is aimed at honing the legal skills of professionals and practitioners in Singapore.

Mr Edwin Tong ’94 (Senior Minister of State for Law and Health) launched the NUS Law Academy with Professor Simon Chesterman (Dean, NUS Law) at the graduation ceremony for the Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice (GCCJ) programme held at the NUS Kent Ridge Campus.

“Building on six decades of transformative legal education at the undergraduate and graduate level, the NUS Law Academy extends that mission to professionals at different stages of their careers. From brushing up on skills to learning about a new area of law, our aim is to provide a suite of modules for the working learner. Our hope is that the NUS Law Academy will become a vital part of Singapore’s legal ecosystem, offering a range of graduate certificates and diplomas to meet the challenges of the future economy,” said Professor Chesterman.

The NUS Law Academy will offer skills-based, industry-relevant courses necessary for upskilling or reskilling, to enable working professionals to hone their skills and update their legal knowledge within a flexible timeframe. There will also be courses catered to non-lawyers such as those who wish to be involved in the practice of arbitration, master mariners and engineers, and law enforcement officers. The NUS Law Academy will work closely with government agencies such as SkillsFuture Singapore, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Home Team Academy and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, to deliver high quality industry-relevant programmes.

The academy currently offers three accredited programmes – Graduate Certificate in International Arbitration (GCIA), Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice (GCCJ) and the Graduate Diploma in Maritime Law & Arbitration (GDMLA). In the pipeline is a new programme, the Graduate Certificate in Intellectual Property and Technology Law (GCIPTL), which will be introduced from August next year.

The launch of the NUS Law Academy also saw 29 senior Home Team officers graduate from the inaugural GCCJ programme.

The nine-month programme was specially designed for senior Home Team officers to enhance their knowledge in the four pillars of the Singapore criminal justice system – criminal law, criminal procedure law, evidence law and sentencing law. It also aims to enhance their proficiency in their investigation work and provide them with a stepping stone towards higher law-related certification.

Professor Chesterman said, “The senior investigation officers from the Singapore Police Force who graduate today from the inaugural Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice programme are a model of what the NUS Law Academy aims to achieve. The programme was specially curated to ensure that the skills and knowledge gained from this programme will enhance their law enforcement work and open doors to higher level certification. Congratulations to our graduates!”

This story was featured in the Straits Times:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/courses-for-lawyers-and-working-professionals-at-new-nus-law-academy