India invites Australian university group to set up campus

Indian Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan invited the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) alliance of seven Australian public universities to set up a full-time campus in India during his recent visit to Australia where he toured a number of higher education institutions and attended the Australian International Education Conference.

“Establishment of Australian university campuses in India is just the beginning, [there is] much more potential to be realised … Cooperation in education is the fulcrum of India-Australia relationship,” said Pradhan on 23 October during his speech at the Australian International Education Conference in Melbourne.

He pitched India’s National Education Policy (NEP 2020) as a framework emphasising digital literacy, soft skills, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary studies to adapt to evolving job markets.

"Since the Indian government's University Grants Commission (UGC) released new guidelines for foreign university campuses in late 2023, IRU member universities have been working to explore the opportunity for a consortium campus in India.

This would be the first time that a group of Australian universities has teamed up in this way for transnational education and has received positive and encouraging feedback from both the Australian and Indian governments," IRU focal person Bethany Keats told University World News.

Pradhan’s office said that during his latest trip, he met with his Australian counterpart, Jason Clare, for a discussion regarding the shared priorities of India and Australia in early childhood care, capacity building for teachers, and the potential for school twinning initiatives.

Building on the strong institutional linkages between Indian and Australian higher education institutions, they agreed to further strengthen the partnership in critical and emerging technologies.

Branch campuses

The ministers’ office confirmed that the two ministers had explored the possibility of establishing branch campuses of Australian universities in India, saying that Clare “praised the work the Innovative Research Universities are doing by exploring options for a consortium campus in India”.

Clare also referred to the fact that Australian universities such as Deakin had been in India for 30 years and Wollongong now has a campus.

Following a meeting with Pradhan, IRU chair Professor Simon Biggs said in a statement that high-quality collaboration with Indian partners is growing rapidly in key areas such as health and medicine, biology and agriculture, and computer science and digital technologies.

He added: “Australia’s research collaboration with India is growing faster than collaboration with any other major partner country. The IRU member universities are also active in developing joint PhD programmes with Indian universities to develop the next generation of research and innovation leaders. These collaborations boost the quality and impact of research for both countries.”

Established in 2003, the IRU comprises Flinders University, Griffith University, James Cook University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University, University of Canberra and Western Sydney University and is seen as a counterweight to the bigger Australian universities in major cities.

Keats said: "The India project came about as an initiative of IRU member universities to investigate new and innovative approaches to transnational education. The IRU has a focus on the Indo-Pacific region and IRU member universities were the first in Australia for example to teach inter-disciplinary Asia-Pacific studies. The IRU consortium approach builds upon the many links that individual member universities already have with partners in India, as well as the experience of individual universities with transnational education and offshore campuses."

Missing business model

Commenting on the developments between India and Australia, Sydney-based international education consultant Ravi Lochan Singh told University World News that there was a “mismatch” between the aspirations of the Indian government and overseas universities.

“The Indian government has been inviting world-ranking universities to set up a campus but there appears to be an expectation that the overseas universities will be doing so for “no financial gain”, said Singh.

“The bureaucratic processes have been fairly cumbersome and that led universities to opt to set up the campuses in the special zones such as the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City [GIFT City],” he noted.

He added that during the recent visit of the Indian Education Minister to Australia, the Indian government was keen to have Australian Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions set up vocational training centres in India or work with Indian polytechnics.

“But, once again a ‘business model’ is missing. Will the Indian students want to study vocational skills, pay the fees that the foreign providers will require to be paid to break even? Keeping in mind the demography of the students seeking the vocational diplomas, it is least likely,” he added.

Links with Australian institutions

During his tour, Pradhan also met Jacinta Allan, premier of the state of Victoria that is home to the largest Indian diaspora in Australia. Allan was in New Delhi last month where she saw the University of Melbourne (UoM) launch the Global Centre in Delhi.

Located in the heart of India's central government district in the capital New Delhi, the centre is tasked to facilitate collaboration and knowledge exchange across education, research, industry, and the community, serving as the university's central hub in India.

According to the UoM, the Melbourne Global Centre will feature cultural performances, art exhibitions, and lecture series, serving as a platform to connect research with Indian corporations, industry partners and academic institutions.

“University of Melbourne is Australia’s top ranked university, and the Melbourne Global Centre will bring their offering to India – opening up new opportunities for collaboration and connection here in Delhi,” she said back then.

Meanwhile, the alliance of Australia’s top-ranked universities, the Group of Eight, hosted Pradhan for lunch at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney.

On this occasion, the UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs said: “We currently have over 2,000 students from India and over the decades our Indian studnts have become an intrinsic part of the vibrant life and culture of our university. We are committed to continuing our long friendship and to deepening our engagement with India.

“Our university has always valued innovation and world-leading research in areas that are important for the health and prosperity of people all over the world, and we welcome this opportunity to discuss how our expertise can, in partnership, contribute to key challenges and opportunities facing India.”

Addressing the students at lunch, Pradhan said: “Today more than 1 million Indians are here, working in Australia, contributing in different ways, gaining wisdom and knowledge in this great country.”

On his tour of Australia, the Indian minister also visited the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and explored its “Discovery to Device” med-tech facility.

During his visit to Monash University he toured Monash’s Innovation Lab and Centre for Nanofabrication, commending the facilities for their role in fostering talent and driving impactful innovations.

This article was modified on 1 November 2024 to include comments from IRU.