R ARIVANANTHAM
AHMEDABAD, MAR 8
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced that his country and the Indian government have finalized the `Australia-India Education Qualification Recognition Mechanism here on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Albanese, on a four days visit to India, was speaking at a programme at Ahmedabad to officially announce that Australia’s Deakin University would be setting up an international offshore campus at GIFT City in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. He made the announcement in the presence of the Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Governor Acharya Devvrat and other officials.
@Deakin University will also become the first foreign university approved to open a campus in India – with more Australian universities hoping to join them.
This is an exciting beginning for stronger educational, commercial and cultural relationships. pic.twitter.com/pO4DMcHILK
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 8, 2023
“There is a significant development in our bilateral education relations. I am pleased to tell you that we have finalised Australia-India Education Qualification Recognition Mechanism,” he said.
“This new mechanism means that if you are an Indian student who is studying or have studied in Australia, your hard-earned degree will be recognised when you return home. Or if you are a member of Australia’s very large Indian diaspora — 500,000 and growing — you will feel more confident that your Indian qualification will be recognised in Australia,” he said. It is the most comprehensive and ambitious arrangement agreed to by India with any country, Albanese said.
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Now, Gujaratis can have global education from Australia’s Deakin University in GIFT City
“It paved the way for commercial opportunities for Australian education providers to offer innovative and more accessible education to Indian students. And it provides a solid basis for education institutions to consider new ways to partner with each other,” he said.
“It is a fantastic piece of work that will have really tangible benefits,” the visiting prime minister added.
Maitri Scholarships
He also announced a new scholarship for Indian students who want to study in Australia.
“I am pleased to announce a new scholarship offering – the Maitri scholarships. This is for Indian students to study in Australia for up to four years. The scholarships are part of the wider Maitri programme that seeks to boost cultural, educational and community ties between Australia and India,” Albanese said.
Speaking at the programme, chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson said the move will further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two nations. Australia is a “very willing partner” in the plan, she added.
With this, the Australia’s Deakin University has become the first foreign university to set up its offshore campus in India since Independence.
This is one of the two Universities (Deakin University and Wollongong University) which have high global rankings and have got clearance to establish a university campus in India.
The $ 4 m campus deal was announced in the presence of senior Indian ministers and higher education representatives from Deakin, the University of Melbourne and Universities Australia.
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) had notified new regulations allowing foreign universities and educational institutions to open offshore campus at Gujarat International Finance Tec City (Gift) and repatriate profits in a range of courses, including financial management, science, technology, engineering and Stem subjects.
To impart Cyber Security, Business Analytics courses
Deakin’s Gift City campus will initially deliver cyber security and business analytics courses to Indian students, with a capacity for 100 enrolments annually.
Under India’s sweeping national education plan, the government is aiming for half of its young population to gain vocational or higher education degrees by 2035 – an increase of 500 million students.