The Deakin University of Australia is prepared to be the first international university to set up its independent campus in the GIFT city of Gujarat. The university plans to first open postgraduate programmes for students.
Indian Express predicts an announcement will be made on the same on March 8, 2023 during Anthony Norman Albanese, Australian Prime Minister’s tour to Ahmedabad.
As per the QS World University Rankings 2023, Deakin is at 266th and has also got a place among the top 50 young universities in the world. The Times Higher Education places it in the 250-300 band.
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Earlier it was reported that no less than two universities have approached the union government in a bid to set up independent offline campuses in India. As per sources, for setting up the campus, Deakin has already made applications to the GIFT city regulator, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the operations are expected to start next year.
There are four campuses of Deakin University in Australia. One in Melbourne and Warrnambool and two in Geelong. The university hosts international students from across 132 countries with 27% of the student capacity being Indians followed by 22% of Chinese students.
The aggregate number of students at Deakin University is 60,000 with the Melbourne campus enrolling 26,000 students.
Last year's budget speech of Nirmala Sitaraman witnessed the announcement of allowing world-class institutions and universities to offer courses in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, FinTech and financial management. The universities will be “free from domestic regulations”.
IFSCA has officially invited applications from foreign universities. A government official confirmed that several universities are in touch with the GIFT regulator. The University of Wollongong, another Australian university is among them.
Since the 1990s, many union governments have made failed attempts to allow foreign universities to enter India. The endeavour will finally be realised with Deakin’s entry and operations next year. Wollongong is expected to follow in similar footsteps.
A spokesperson from UOW said that they might book a couple of floors to start classes by May 2023. Patricia Davidson, the Vice Chancellor will be travelling to India accompanied by Australian Education Minister, Jason Clare to plan the setting up of the campus in GIFT city with Dharmendra Pradhan.
The University of Wollongong plans to offer undergraduate courses in finance, business and STEM. The fee structure is yet to be decided.
The entry of foreign universities into India has time and again been a controversial issue which has always ended up in failure. Finally in the National Education Policy document, the NDA government committed to foreign universities’ entry into India.
In January, UGC announced that it is in the process of drafting rules to govern foreign institutes setting up campuses in India. However, the rules of UGC will apply to such potential projects outside GIFT city where only IFSCA’s rule will be followed.
As per IFSCA regulations for GIFT city, the programmes offered by foreign universities in the GIFT city must be similar to those offered in the home country.
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The certificates, diplomas and degrees have to be similar as per the regulations. They should also enjoy similar status and recognition indistinguishable from what they enjoyed if they were in their home jurisdiction. The universities will be allowed to repatriate their profits from the GIFT city campuses.
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Source: The Indian Express
