University of Western Australia reaches UGC to set up branch campuses in India, hub in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: The University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, has submitted its application to the University Grants Commission to establish multiple branch campuses across India, with the hub to be set up in Mumbai, officials said on Thursday.

The UWA, one of the world’s top 100 universities, will become the first Ivy League-equivalent institution and the first of Australia's prestigious Group of Eight (Go8) universities to set up a campus in India.

Diane Smith-Gander, chancellor, UWA, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the sidelines of the WAVES summit in Mumbai.

"We are proud for UWA to have chosen our first global branch campuses to be established in India. Our selection of India is based on a long standing history of research collaboration in the areas of agriculture, plant sciences and business; and leveraging the Government of Western Australia's long standing presence across Mumbai and Chennai," said Smith-Gander.

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"We feel connected to India and wish to deepen that connection into a substantial footprint that has the landscape of a diverse and strong economic base. We are committed to working with Indian students and the Indian Government to support its ambitions under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020," the chancellor added.

Established in 1911 and globally ranked 77, UWA, a public research university in Perth, is amongst the top one per cent of universities in Australia and at top rank in graduate employability in Western Australia. Its alumni included prime ministers of Australia, five high court justices, governors of the Reserve Bank, Federal Cabinet ministers, premiers of Western Australia, over 110 Rhodes scholars, and two Nobel laureates.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had in 2023 announced setting up and operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India Regulations. While the UK's Southampton University is in the process of setting up its campus in India this year, two Australian universities — Deakin and Wollongong — already have campuses in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

Queen's University Belfast and Coventry University have also received approval for setting up campuses in GIFT City. So far no US university has an offshore campus in India.