Sonipat, Apr 6 (IANS): Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has once again retained the No.1 position in India while its global ranking this year improved to 70th, a jump of six places from 2021, according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject (Law) 2022 released on Wednesday.
There is no other Indian law school including none of the National Law Schools that have been able to find any place in the top 75 law schools in these prestigious global rankings.
The improvement in Jindal Global Law School's global ranking marks a continuity in its ascent for the past several years. Before making it to the global top 70 in 2022, JGLS was ranked 76th in 2021, and in the 101-150 bracket in 2020. Its domestic ranking as the No.1 law school in India has, however, remained unchanged for the past three years.
Overall, the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject analysed over 14.7 million unique papers, producing close to 96 million citations. A total of 1,543 institutions were ranked across 51 subjects in five broad subject areas, creating over 17,700 ranked entries.
For law, QS ranked a total of 340 law schools after evaluating 1,118 institutions in the world in 2022.
Reacting to this remarkable achievement, Naveen Jindal, Founding Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, said, "Congratulations to Jindal Global Law School for once again being ranked for the third year consecutively as India's Number 1 Law School. The improvement in the global ranking of Jindal Global Law School this year goes on to prove that the spirit of excellence with which it was established 12 years ago remains undiminished even in the face of numerous challenges associated with the global pandemic. This has only been possible due to the relentless efforts of the university's leadership and management team, outstanding works of our distinguished faculty members and the hard work of our students. It's the commitment to the greater good that continuously inspires JGLS to scale new heights in academic excellence, legal training and research. To see the name of an Indian university among the 70 best law schools in the world is a matter of immense pride for all of us. I congratulate our Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, and each member of the broader JGU community, including its faculty, students and staff for making it happen. I would also like to thank all the partner institutions in the world which have collaborated with JGU to create unprecedented opportunities for our students."
To produce the rankings by subject, QS primarily considers academic reputation, employer reputation, citations and h-index, an index that attempts to measure the stability of impact and quality of the work published by the institution's scholars.
On reaching this important milestone, Professor C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University, said, "The rise of JGLS to the 70th position among the world's top law schools in a span of just 12 years bears tremendous significance as it marks the emergence of India as an important destination for pursuing legal education of global standards and conducting cutting-edge research. Even during the testing times of the Covid-19 pandemic, JGU has not only shown its resilience but has also continued its mission of expanding opportunities for students through interdisciplinary learning, world-class faculty and global collaborations."
"One of the major factors that has propelled JGLS to the 70th position in the world in the prestigious QS World University Rankings is the quality of research produced by the faculty members. It is heartening to note that during 2020-21, JGLS faculty members produced over 300+ academic research publications, of which 280+ are indexed in Scopus, which is the largest database of peer-reviewed literature in the world," he added.
"These are not small numbers for a young law school. The 280+ publications signify that JGLS alone has produced double the number of similar Scopus-indexed publications listed by all of India's 23 National Law Universities combined. The persistent efforts of JGLS faculty members are a testament to the commitment and dedication of India's number one ranked law school to ensure high-quality research and scholarship," Professor Raj Kumar said.
Starting its journey with 10 faculty members and 100 students in 2009, JGLS today has nearly 5,000 students and 500 faculty members. It offers a range of undergraduate, post-graduate, masters' and doctoral degrees in law, jurisprudence and legal studies. To offer the best international learning experience to its students, JGLS has forged international collaborations with over 250 leading law schools/universities in the world.
"Providing world-class legal education in Indian soil appeared to be a distant dream just a few years ago. Today we are living with this beautiful reality, thanks to the vision of our founding Chancellor and benefactor, Mr. Naveen Jindal, extraordinary efforts of JGU's faculty members, and sincerity and dedication of our students," Professor Raj Kumar added.
Reflecting on JGU's achievements, Dr. Ashwin Fernandes, Regional Director, Middle East, Africa & South Asia, QS Quacquarelli Symonds observed, "It is a moment of immense pride and glory for India to have O.P. Jindal Global University rise to rank 70th in the world and 1st in India in our 2022 edition of QS World University Rankings by Subject. As the saying goes - Age is no barrier, but a limitation you put in your mind; and this aptly says a lot about JGU achieving great heights in just its 12 years of existence. QS evaluated over 1118 institutions for law globally and ranked 340 of them, making it a very exclusive and elite list of top law schools of the world. My congratulations to all at JGU and a special mention to Prof C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, for his stellar efforts for envisioning and working towards a building a world-class institution in India."
Commenting on the accomplishment, Professor S.G. Sreejith, Executive Dean, JGLS said, "To see JGLS standing tall among the world's best law schools is a truly humbling experience. The ingenuity of the vision of our founders has been adequately complemented by the efforts of the world-class faculty members, leading to the establishment of a law school which has now proved to be a class apart in India. It's only because the cause espoused by JGLS has received overwhelming support from students and their parents from across India and different parts of the world that the law school has become what it is today - a global top destination for legal education."
Reflecting on the implications of the jump in the global ranking of JGLS, Professor Arjya B. Majumdar, Dean, Office of Benchmarking and Institutional Transformation (ORBIT), O.P. Jindal Global University, said, "Being ranked 70th among the world's best is a reflection of the growing stature of JGLS among the students, academics and employers in the world. The fact that JGLS retained its No.1 position in India and improved its global ranking in a year hugely impacted by the global pandemic speaks volumes about the standards of teaching and research that have taken root at JGLS. The recognition by QS World University Rankings will definitely inspire us to strive towards bringing greater glory to the Indian higher education space in general and JGLS in particular."
Securing a place in this year's QS World University Rankings by Subject suggests that JGLS has put India on the global map for legal education.
Responding to this achievement, Professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, JGU, said, "The recognition of JGLS as one of the top 70 law schools in the world will help advance JGU's mission of producing global leaders of tomorrow through world-class education in India. The incredible support that JGLS has received from different sections of the society has inspired JGU to rapidly expand its capacities. Today, JGU has 12 schools which together offer a total of 52 programmes across a diverse range of disciplines in social sciences & management and arts & humanities. The scores provided by QS World University Rankings suggest that several other schools at JGU, besides JGLS, have made significant strides towards getting recognised as one of the best in the world in their respective disciplines."