We love hearing from all of our alums about their post-MSL exploits; we get a special charge hearing from the members of our inaugural MSL class, who studied in the program in the 2014-15 academic year. The very first person ever to commit to attending the MSL program was Shweta Dharap (MSL ’15). Shweta had earned a BS and an MS degree in Biotechnology from Pune University in India. In addition to her academic distinction, she had worked as a laboratory assistant and a research assistant. She had also completed a certificate course in animal handling and another in microbiological techniques. Shweta was interested in learning more about intellectual property and understanding some of the legal obstacles surrounding protection of biotechnology researchers’ discoveries and inventions.

Like a lot of MSL students, Shweta proved to be very well-rounded, and, also like a lot of MSL students, some of that well-roundedness involved music. Shweta was super interested in the arts, and, in particular, in dance, having participated in dance activities and cultural festivals throughout her time in school. A few years after completing the MSL, Shweta undertook a one-year Diploma course that included coverage of western classical dance-ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance, along with technical dance knowledge, anatomy, and theory.

Now, Shweta has found a way to put together her various interests – she has recently been doing work related to intellectual property rights in dance! Shweta has written a piece called Copyright and Today’s Dancemakers; the piece was recently posted on the website for Chicago Dancemakers Forum. You can read it here.