Deakin University to become first foreign tertiary institution with campus in India

Late last year India announced new regulations allowing foreign universities and educational institutions to open offshore Gujarat International Finance Tec City (Gift) campuses and repatriate profits in a range of courses, including financial management, science, technology, engineering and Stem subjects.

Anthony Albanese and his counterpart, Narendra Modi, discussed fostering closer educational collaboration during their first bilateral meeting after the Albanese took power in May last year.

Last week the education minister, Jason Clare, signed a groundbreaking agreement with his Indian counterpart on a week-long trip to India.

Clare was accompanied by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, 11 vice-chancellors, five peak groups and a regulator on the trip, where universities announced memorandums of understanding.

Indian students are the fastest growing cohort of international students in Australia and the second biggest demographic behind China.

There has been a 160% jump in the number of students arriving from India over the past year, coinciding with a drop in Chinese student enrolments.

At the Australian Technology Network of Universities, which represents Deakin, Indian applications and offers are almost double 2019 levels, while Chinese applications are at 75% and grew by just 7% from 2022 to 2033.

The University of Wollongong announced its intention to establish a campus at Gift City in July last year and is still working towards achieving approval.

The announcement follows a lengthy partnership with Deakin in the south-east Asia region. The university was the first international institution to open an office in India in 1994 and the first to offer complete degrees online.