The UJ Social Justice Internship Programme (UJ SJIP) is an exciting recent addition to UJ’s twodecade trajectory of innovation in teaching and learning. Launched in 2024, the UJ SJIP bridges the gap between classroom theory and real-world legal practice by placing final-year LLB and LLM students in month-long internships with leading public interest law organisations, including Lawyers for Human Rights, SECTION27, and SERI. As Samkelo Mngadi, inaugural UJ intern at SECTION27, reflected: “This opportunity represents an important step in my journey as aspiring legal practitioner. … This practical engagement will bridge the gap between theory and practice, equipping me with the skills and confidence to approach complex legal problems in the future.” Legal Education and Social Impact Traditional legal education is often criticised for its disconnect from legal practice and from the lived realities of communities most in need of legal services and support. The UJ SJIP responds to this critique by creating a structured pathway for students to engage with law as a tool for social transformation. The programme offers a transformative learning opportunity for students by linking legal theory with hands-on practice, equipping students with essential skills in research, advocacy, and professional development. Through meaningful engagement with public interest law organisations, students not only enhance their learning competencies but also contribute to community empowerment and societal transformation. The internship fosters critical thinking, professional skills development, and ethical legal practice. A Collaborative Approach to Social Justice Education The UJ SJIP is committed to social impact and community engagement and so embodies a partnership between the university and civil society. Partner Organisations 1. Lawyers for Human Rights1 (LHR): LHR is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental human rights organisation that has been operational for 45 years, using advocacy, community mobilisation and litigation to secure change. LHR currently has six programmatic areas: refugee and migrant rights; penal reform; land and housing; environmental rights; gender equality; and strategic litigation. 2. SECTION272: Section27 is a public interest law centre that advances socio-economic rights – in particular, the right to access health care services and the right to basic education – through litigation, advocacy, legal literacy, research and community mobilisation. 3. Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)3: SERI is a non-profit human rights organisation that works with communities, social movements, individuals and other nonprofit organisations. SERI’s areas of focus are in three themes: securing a home, making a living, and expanding political space. Faculty of Law team Within the Faculty of Law, UJ SJIP was founded by Dr Meghan Finn, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Law. The team now includes Ms Sanele Ndlovu, an attorney at the UJ Law Clinic, Dr Sershiv Reddy, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mercantile Law, and Ms Zipozihle Zuba-Mpulu, a Managing Attorney at the UJ Law Clinic. Together, the members of the UJSJIP provide support and training for students involved in the internship programme, including: i. Application screening and interviewing students that will partake in the internship. ii. Pre-internship training workshops on legal writing, work readiness and professional development, resilience building, and on public interest lawyering in South Africa. iii. Monitoring and evaluating the student interns, in consultation with the partner organisations. iv. Debriefing and psychosocial processing. 1 Lawyers for Human Rights, website available at https://www.lhr.org.za/about-us/ 2 Section 27 website available at https://section27.org.za/about-us/ 3 Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa website available at https://www. seri-sa.org/index.php/what-2/about-seri 78 A Journey of Innovation
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