Collabration with university of Montana USA

Collaboration of Osh State University and University of Montana USA

http://www.umt.edu/ip/training/kyrgyz.html

This three year program was a collaboration between The University of Montana and Osh State University (Kyrgyz Republic). The program helped Osh State’s Faculty of Law develop curriculum and teaching methods based on American models, particularly in clinical training and the integration of theory and practice in the classroom. A two-way faculty exchange program over three years assisted Osh State to develop a mission statement, define relevant and necessary learning outcomes, integrate theory and practice, and assess student performance. The project established the Central Asia Law Institute (www.umt.edu/cali) at The University of Montana to help promote on-going relationships among professional colleagues in the Central Asia and Caspian Basin region. The program was funded by the United States Department of State.

Five Osh State University Faculty of Law members visited UM. They observed UM Law School’s in-house and external clinics, observed classroom teaching, reviewed syllabi and lesson plans for both classroom and clinical education., and participated in seminars on teaching and clinical legal education. They attended lectures in international and comparative law and presented lectures in the Central and Southwest Asia Program and at the Law School.

In 2007, UM law faculty conducted a national conference on legal education in Bishkek.  The well-received conference included the first Russian translation of the US’s Clinical Legal Education Association’s 2007 treatise, “Best Practices in Legal Education.”