Mumbai, Mar 9 (IANS): The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, Rajasthan, will foray into legal education with the BITS Law School offering 'new age' courses in Greater Mumbai from this year, an official said here on Thursday.

Starting with an interim location in Powai, it will later move to a 63-acre residential 'green campus', with zero-carbon footprint and state-of-the-art facilities, designed by eminent architect Hafeez Contractor in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), being built at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

Among the specialisations that will be taught in BITS Law School are Technology and Media Law; Entertainment and Sports Law; Corporate and Financial Law; and Alternate Dispute Resolution and Mediation, reimagining all aspects of legal education.

Starting from August 2023, the BITS Law School will conduct the popular five-year integrated degree programmes -- BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons) -- with a flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum, strong digital underpinning, emphasis on empathy and creativity in learning, etc. with scholarships for deserving students.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group and BITS Pilani's Chancellor, said the BITS Law School will address contemporary and emerging problems of local and global significance, inspired by the National Education Policy and soaring aspirations of the youth.

The BITS Law School has an Advisory Council comprising former Chief Justice of India Justice U.U. Lalit, former Supreme Court Justice B. N. Srikrishna, and other prominent personalities from the legal fraternity, while Ashish Bharadwaj will be the founding Dean.

The law students here will gain access to more than 1,70,000 BITS Pilani Alumni network spanning 55 countries, leading law firms, business houses, banks, research organisations and NGOs.