‘We ranked between IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi; want to be at par with INIs’: UoW India director

NEW DELHI: This year, University of Wollongong became one of the first two foreign universities to set up campuses in India. It started operations at the International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Nimay Kalyani, campus director of University of Wollongong India (UOW India), which will start its first batch from November – moved from July due to weather conditions – spoke with Careers360 about the campus launch, courses, partnerships, curriculum and more. Edited excerpts:

Q. How has been your experience with setting up a campus in GIFT City?

A. The foreign universities at Gujarat International Financial Technology City (GIFT) are allowed to set up their international branch campuses at Special Economic Zones (SEZ) which are technically out of the customs jurisdiction. The best part about this is how the government has eased the process of setting up and doing business. For instance, the financial market outside the SEZ is governed by four bodies but at SEZ, they have consolidated all of them under International Financial Services Centre Authorities (IFSCA).

The registration was a straightforward process and IFSCA has streamlined it. Admissions are still open for the Master of Computing programme. For now, we have a capacity of more than 200 students with immediate plans of expansion. The first batch will receive a fully paid trip to our Dubai campus along with access to networks, mentoring programmes etc.

Q. What challenges did you face while marketing your courses?

Whenever we face issues with pay standards, salary packages or quality of academics, the UGC [the University Grants Commission] has been quite responsive. For someone who has moved back to India, working with the government has been an absolute delight. Further, we have lots of benefits within the IFSCA, including tax holiday period, GST exemption and a few others, and when you promote such benefits, students see the value as these savings are passed directly to them as evident through our highly competitive fee structure.

We rank 167th in the world between Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking 2024. In the 2025 ranking, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi are ahead of us. We outrank the other IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and other high-ranking universities of India.

Having said that, we are not here to compete with these highly-recognised institutes of national importance, rather provide an equal or higher standard of education in India. The uniqueness of our programmes is that students receive an Australian degree when they graduate, from the comfort of being in India.

We have partnered with some mega names in the IT and FinTech industry and are in conversations with many others. The first course, Master of Computing and Information Systems, will start on 4 November. We have also announced that the admissions are now open for our Master of Fintech and Master of Fintech Extension programmes. The first batch for these programmes will start in November. Both the programmes offer a master’s degree and a graduate certificate.

Q. Will the faculty travel from Australia to India or will they be hired from India?

A. Academics will be visiting from all of our international branch campuses, including Australia. It will truly be an international education experience for students. While we understand that an experienced professor or associate professor would have their own ways
of doing things, eventually adapting to the institute is also a must. Hence, our local academics will be supported by visiting academics.

International university campuses are supposed to have placements within GIFT City. How do you ensure that graduates receive good placements?

There is no hard engraved word that students must be placed within the GIFT City only. We are encouraged to have as many placements as possible within the GIFT City and regions around. But if we can’t place everyone in the city, we have to consider the greater region of Gujarat and IndiSo, we are looking for and are in conversations with industry partners within the GIFT City and beyond.

Q. How have you designed your course structure and delivery?

We have replicated our programmes and delivery structure from our home university. We are an internationally recognised Australian university with campuses in Hong Kong, Dubai and Malaysia. We try to maintain consistency but don’t enforce standardisation. Delivering a programme has a few components – hardcore academics, practical application of learning in classrooms in the context of the business environment, and industry alignment.

For instance, there is a huge amount of outsourcing in western countries’ IT industries. But in India, it’s the opposite, where a lot of insourcing happens. The academic content and structure of our programmes come from Australia which ensures the standard of delivery and quality assurance. But there is local contextualisation as well. By the time our first batch graduates, we will have a line-up of Indian Tech and FinTech companies offering internships, placements and industry projects within the GIFT City and across India.

Q. What is the UOW India fee structure?

A. We are a not-for-profit public-owned university in Australia. So, whatever the revenue, it is reinvested back into education – be it in India or any other country where we have a presence. Our Dubai campus started with nine students and now it has grown to over 3,500 students. The revenue has been reinvested in the campus to expand and provide opportunity to more students.

The Government of India has signed multiple memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the Australian Government. We do have expansion and growth plans. If we are a high-ranking university in India, our intention is not to compete with others but to establish ourselves as leaders in the education sector in India.

Our fee in GIFT City is currently 50% of that in Australia. We also offer graduate certificate programs where a student has to study only 4 courses. On average, a student would end up paying AUD 27,900 for a master’s degree depending on what electives they pursue. Students pay subject-based fees.

In Australia, the fee depends on the subjects students choose rather than the entire programme. Hence, our fees are based on each subject. Students have flexibility within their programmes where there are three sets of subjects – the compulsory subjects, the directed electives and open electives. Fees may vary depending on what they choose.

Q. How is the university structure different from that of Indian universities?

The most differentiating factor is that the students will receive an Australian award in IndiAlso, everything we are teaching is backed by research. There are courses in Master of Computing that are not taught out of a textbook but informed by multiple journal articles, industry research and other well credited sources of information. And these will be taught by highly recognised and celebrated academics in their respective fields. The classroom experience will be world class and taught by subject experts with opportunities to work and intern with industry leaders.

Q. What about scholarships?

A. I think we are too young and too new in India to be diversifying into multiple scholarships. But we are offering a ‘Women Leaders in FinTech Scholarship’. Through this, female students
will get a 50% waiver on their tuition fee along with free mentoring from industry leaders. Eventually, with time and growth, there will be more scholarships introduced and announced. We also offer our degree programs for part-time study where students can earn while studying.

Q. Any collaborations with Indian institutes in the pipeline?

A. Yes, I am in conversation with quite a few universities and institutes of excellence. More details will be shared over the coming months as we ramp up our presence in GIFT City.