An Australian university, which last month strongly denied media reports of banning Indian students, received official approval to set up a campus in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
The University of Wollongong (UoW) received approval for a license to conduct courses in India following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UoW Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia M. Davidson on 12 May.
“We are delighted to have the approval and plan to begin our operations at GIFT City by the end of this year,” Professor Davidson said in a university statement.
Davidson said, “I would like to thank the Australian Government, Prime Minister Modi and his Government for supporting our mutual vision to provide the high quality Australian teaching and learning environment that UoW India is known for. Is.”
By 2023, over 2,500 Indian students are enrolled at UOW in Australia, with business, engineering and information science being the most popular degrees.
The country is reportedly set to enroll the highest number of Indian students ever in 2019, surpassing the previous high of 75,000.
Davidson further added that UoW aims to create a space for learning, research and industry collaboration that supports GIFT City’s mission, and provides an affordable Australian education within India by a highly ranked and experienced global university.
UOW plans to start with a Graduate Certificate in Computing and a Master of Computing in the Finance Domain at GIFT City later this year, and then add a Master of Applied Finance and a Master of Financial Technology (FinTech) in 2024.
This will be followed by Bachelors of Business and Computing Science in 2025, according to the university’s statement.
The university also plans to set up a Global Capital Markets Research Center at its GIFT City location, which will focus on training PhD students and delivery of research, with a focus on Indian capital markets.
For this, UOW said it has started working with the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and has in-principle support from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The university will set student fees at 50 per cent of the fees incurred by international students studying at UOW’s Australian campus.
This will be complemented by merit scholarships to ensure that talented and capable students can study with us at GIFT City, the statement said.
UOW Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Alex Frino said, “The 21st century is truly India’s century and we are proud to be part of its success story and its contribution to shaping a better world.”
Frino said, “India’s young and expanding workforce and growing demand for expertly trained talent provides UoW with a unique opportunity to invest its high-quality teaching and learning capabilities in the country and produce the skilled workforce of the future.” Have done.”
Last month an Australian media investigation said UoW was among five universities that banned or banned students from some Indian states in response to a rise in bogus applications not to work and study in the country.
Refuting the claims, UOW said in a statement that there are no restrictions on student applications from India other than “the standard admissions criteria we apply to all international students and the requirements of the Australian Department of Home Affairs”.
UoW said that instead of introducing restrictions, it has streamlined the application process for all international students, including Indian students, to speed up the turnaround time on their applications.
Last year, UOW launched the Vice-Chancellor’s Leadership Scholarship-India, which provides recipients with generous financial aid, leadership training, dedicated academic support, community networking and opportunities for global mobility.
UOW has campuses in Dubai, Hong Kong and Malaysia, each employing over 200 academic staff and enrolling at least 3,000 students each, in addition to its Australian campuses.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS,