In February Andrew Bollington Chief Operating Officer of the International Academy, Professor Jenny Hamilton, and Simon Askey, Director and Deputy Director respectively of International Programmes Undergraduate Laws Programme attended the two Laws Convocations in Bangladesh organised by the Undergraduate Laws Office with assistance from Lisa Pierre and Chris Jenney. This was the 3rd such convocation held in Dhaka and was attended by over 200 students. Special thanks must go to the British Council in Dhaka who again provided both the venue and excellent organisational support for the event.
The University of London has been offering the Laws Programme in Bangladesh for over 20 years and the LLB is recognised by the legal profession in Bangladesh, complementing the educational resources of the local area and adding an international opportunity to study. The University of London registers these students directly, takes full and exclusive responsibility for quality and standards. It fully controls assessment, which is undertaken to normal University of London procedures and not delegated to any third party. There are currently six local institutions providing local support for students studying our programmes formally recognised by the University of London International Programmes, and one which is has commenced the formal recognition process (see http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/onlinesearch/institutions/index.jsp for a list of these institutions). The degree offered through the University of London International Programmes is not a “validated” degree.
While in Dhaka Andrew Bollington, Jenny Hamilton and Simon Askey also participated in a round table event with members of the University Grants Commission and the six University of London International programmes Recognised Institutions in Bangladesh. The round table was organised by the British Council to discuss issues in cross-border education with a particular focus on regulation of transnational education providers . During the discussion and a subsequent meeting in London, the Chair of the UGC confirmed that our model of delivery of our programme conformed to the current regulatory environment, and it was agreed we would liaise over the development of the higher education regulatory framework in Bangladesh and how the University of London International programmes can continue to support the HE sector in Bangladesh.