Aufa
Karnalkar

Aufa is an international student from India and studied LLM International Trade and Commercial Law, graduating in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic forced her to re-think her career after losing her dream job in Shipping Law at a leading law firm in India. Aufa is thriving as a freelance lawyer and academic law tutor and we caught up with her to discover her experience as an international student at NTU.

Why did you choose to study at NTU?

I liked the course structure of the Masters study at NTU. I had received an international student scholarship and this was one of the main reasons why I opted to study at NTU.

I found Nottingham to be a very student-friendly city with many budget options for everything from food to accommodation compared to the other big cities like London or Leeds.

NTU also has a good ranking in terms of employability and I had heard from the alumni that the University is helpful in assisting students to find internships and job placements. NTU hosts job fairs which is a great platform to network with recruiters.

I loved the campus too. I loved studying at the roof terrace of Boots library!

What did you learn – both inside and outside of lectures?

I learnt a lot from my professors. The teaching methodology was very different from what I was accustomed to in India. The professors were highly learned yet very humble and accommodated all students. They were truly inspiring.

The Global Lounge was a great place to meet people and hang out. I remember playing table football there and having free lunch on Tuesdays.

What extra-curricular activities did you take part in?

I was a faith ambassador for NTU. NTU works towards promoting inter-faith friendships and eliminating cultural or religious hate of any kind. As part of my work, I along with other faith ambassadors visited several religious places such as temples, churches and met people of different faiths and promoted religious harmony.

What does your current role involve?

I am currently working for a major travel company based in Singapore as their Employment Counsel. Prior to this role, I worked in other multinational companies. I also had a brief period in academia where I created law courses on Udemy and taught in a law university based in Mumbai.

I can proudly state that my NTU degree has greatly helped me. The manner of teaching at NTU is very different from what I was accustomed to in India. Masters at NTU is based on practical cases and independent self-study and research. This form of study helped me to pass through the different stages of interview while applying for jobs.

I also got the opportunity to conduct a legal workshop for government officials in the Defence Academy (which is a training academy for Defence and Army personnel) in India. My masters degree from NTU has played a major role in achieving this opportunity.

What challenges have you faced?

The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed the work culture in India. I graduated just months before the outbreak of the pandemic. I had secured my dream job but lost it due to the pandemic and then later struggled to find a suitable job despite achieving a distinction and having great work experience prior to my LLM. Despite doing everything I could, life after graduation wasn’t as I expected it to be. This was a major setback. The only way I could overcome it was by being patient.

I was afraid that I might lose interest and become out of touch with Law and so I made it a habit to read at least something related to my subject on a daily basis. I utilised my time by writing articles and one day, to my surprise, I got a job offer as a visiting professor from a university in Mumbai where I had applied a year ago. I started taking online lectures for the university (lectures were conducted online due to the pandemic). I loved my job. Out of all the jobs that I did previously, I found the teaching job to be highly satisfying.

This opportunity made me realise my potential for teaching. I continue to teach and aspire to write law books.

I started creating law courses in my area of specialisation (International Trade and Commercial Law) on online learning platforms and in less than a month, more than 1000 students enrolled for my courses and this number continues to grow every day.

What are your plans for the future?

I aspire to make my name in the top in-house counsels and in addition, as I aim to grow my career in academia, my ambition is to be a renowned Law author one day.

Read Aufa's LinkedIn profile.