Dr Shamini Ragavan

Dr Shamini Ragavan

Birmingham Law School
Associate Professor in Law (Dubai)

Contact details

Telephone
+971(0) 42492327
Email
s.ragavan@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal

Shamini is currently the Programme Lead of the Foundation programme for Social Sciences, Business and Law for Birmingham International Academy, Deputy Programme Director of the LL.M in International Commercial Law and CEPLER Lead in Dubai. Prior to joining University of Birmingham, Shamini worked in five countries in a legal career spanning twenty years as a Barrister in Malaysia (specialized in civil litigation), a Solicitor in England, Lecturer in Law and Consultant for Newcastle University, UK. She was also a Visiting Lecturer for the Newcastle University School of Marine Sciences teaching on the MSc International Business Law to Marine Engineers in Dubai and Singapore.  She has received accolades for her work in designing, setting up and running academic programmes for students including invitations to lead workshops and seminars, sitting at University panels on Internationalisation and Mentoring and including standing as a Reviewer for two academic journals in the UK. She has also published in these areas.

Qualifications

  •      Senior Fellow of the Advance HE, United Kingdom 
  •      PhD (Newcastle University, UK)
  •      Qualified Lawyers’ Transfer Test (Solicitor) (London)
  •      Solicitor (non-practising) England and Wales 
  •      Advocate and Solicitor(non-practising) Malaysia
  •      LL.M (Newcastle University, UK) 
  •      Certificate in Legal Practice, University Malaya, Malaysia.
  •      LL.B University of London

Biography

Shamini specialises in designing and setting up academic programmes for undergraduate and postgraduate students. In her previous role as an International Student Tutor at Newcastle University, she designed the International Student Intensive Guidance and Development programme (ISIGP) and mentoring programme  that received four commendations between 2006 -2014 in significantly increasing student passes and quality of results achieved in their academic study whilst reducing attrition rates (to zero), leading to awards of exemplary practice by the UK Internal Subject Review panels and the Newcastle University Faculty of Teaching and Learning.

Her work with international students was also featured in the national newspaper in Malaysia. Based on this contribution to the field of knowledge in the UK, she was appointed Reviewer for several top UK academic journals including Studies in Higher Education and the Journal of Innovation in Education and Teaching International. Shamini is a Senior Fellow of the Advance HE. She is appointed Distinguished Associate of the Institute of Educational Leadership of the University of Malaya, Malaysia. She was also appointed Fellow of the National Institute of Teaching Ethics and Professionalism in US and Legal Ethics UK, in 2013 and 2014 respectively. She has led workshops and given talks by invitation at many institutions in the UK, including leading workshops for new lecturers on effective teaching pedagogy for international students, Assessment and Feedback Issues for Teaching International Students in Law at the University of Warwick, UK, a workshop funded by the European Network on Clinical Legal Education for developing ethically sensitive clinicians, to name a few. She also sat on University panels for implementing Internationalisation and Mentoring at Newcastle University and have been consulted by Schools within the University on setting up academic programmes for International students.

She has published research articles in legal education, law of evidence and ethics, and has taught on many undergraduate and postgraduate law modules including Law of Evidence, Company Law, Law of Contract, Public Law, Legal Institutions and Methods, Criminal Law, Law of Tort, International Business Law and ran various academic skills development modules earning her two nominations for the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher’s Award and Contribution to Outstanding Feedback respectively. She was also a Visiting Scholar at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (2010) and Qatar University, College of Law (2014). As a lawyer, she has conducted various contested trials (commercial/ civil litigation) including full trials, ranging from the Court of Appeal and the High Court to the subordinate courts in Malaysia. She has also worked in law firms in the North East of England and London.

Teaching

  • Module Lead in LL.M Company Law (LL.M)
  • Module Lead in A Critical Introduction to Law and Legal Skills (Foundation)

Postgraduate supervision

I am looking to supervise doctoral candidates in areas of criminal evidence, ethics (values) and legal education/mentoring in pedagogical curricula designs that enhances student learning and teacher reflection.

Research

My research lies in teaching and educational pedagogy involving empirical work, including designing innovative academic curriculum, setting up and running academic programmes with the objective of enhancing student learning and experience within the Higher education institutions. Ethical values play a significant part in the pedagogical designs, content and outcome. The key research aims are to seek best practices at various platforms. My other teaching-led-research involves understanding the rules of evidence within the English legal system and leading to proposing changes to the civil and criminal rules of standards of proof in serious civil cases.

Other activities

  • Distinguished Associate of the Institute of Educational Leadership, University of Malaya, Malaysia
  • Fellow of the National Institute of Teaching and Ethics and Professional Responsibility (NIFTEP) and Legal Ethics (2013-2014)
  • Member of the Law Society of England and Wales
  • Member of the Malaysian Bar

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Ragavan, S 2014, 'An Intermediate Standard of Proof in Serious Civil Cases in England and Wales', The Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 81-100. <https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/nilq65&div=9&g_sent=1&casa_token=&collection=journals>

Ragavan, S 2014, 'Developing Ethical Values through a Mentoring Scheme', Legal Ethics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 401-423. https://doi.org/10.5235/1460728X.17.3.401

Ragavan, S 2014, 'Peer Mentoring for International Students in a UK Law School: Lessons from a Pilot Case Study', Innovations in Education and Teaching International, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 292-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.785254

Ragavan, S 2013, 'The Compellability Rule in England and Wales: Support for the Spouse of the Defendant', Journal of Criminal Law, vol. 77, no. 4, pp. 310-324.

Ragavan, S 2012, 'Acquiring Skills for a Globalised World through a Peer Mentoring Scheme: A UK Law School Experience', The Law Teacher, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 15-37.

Ragavan, S 2009, 'The Role of an International Student Tutor in a UK Law School: A Case Study', The Law Teacher, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 246-268.

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

  • Teaching International students and mentoring

Media experience

  • Featured in Malaysian newspaper for work done on the above.
  • Languages and other information:
  • Tamil (mother-tongue) and Malay
  • Shamini has advised Sri Lankan refugees on their legal rights and provided legal translation.