The College of Law has announced details of a new strategic collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE), with a view to establishing a permanent presence on the ground in the country.

As a part of the agreement, which was first reported by Legal Week in March, the College and SILE – a statutory body with the remit of maintaining and improving the standards of legal education – will jointly develop new courses for aspiring lawyers as well as continuing professional development (CPD) programmes for qualified lawyers in Singapore and the surrounding region.

The pair will set up a jointly-run summer school programme aimed at newly-qualified lawyers, focusing on corporate and dispute resolution. The College will also help SILE develop its existing training programme for law graduates wishing to be admitted to the Singapore Bar – the local equivalent of the UK Legal Practice Course.

The College, which is one of the first accredited providers of CPD, which has become compulsory in Singapore for newly-qualified lawyers under regulations which came into force last month, expects the collaboration to eventually lead to the creation of a permanent base in Singapore.

Chief executive Nigel Savage said: "The College and the Institute have the common aim of supporting Singapore's growing success as a global hub for legal services and education and share a vision of legal education in a global context."

He continued: "The initiative will also support the strategic aspirations of our English law firm clients who are currently investing heavily in Singapore and the wider region."

News of the plans comes after the College agreed a £200m sale of its legal education and training business to buyout house Montagu Private Equity, in a deal which marks the end of a strategic review by the charity's governors.