In a recent step towards internationalising higher education in India, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday issued Letters of Intent (LoIs) to 4 foreign universities for establishing their campuses in the country. The announcement was made during the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam (ABSS), held to mark five years of the National Education Policy 2020.
The universities granted LoIs include Australia’s Western Sydney University (WSU), Victoria University, La Trobe University, and the UK’s University of Bristol. These institutions join the growing list of foreign universities setting up operations in India under the NEP framework, which encourages greater global collaboration in education.
Speaking at the event, Education Minister said that up to 15 international universities are expected to establish campuses in India. ‘Australia’s Deakin University and University of Wollongong have already started operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City, while the UK’s University of Southampton has set up a campus in Gurugram, NCR,’ he noted.
The four newly announced campuses will be located across major Indian cities:
- Western Sydney University (WSU) will set up its campus in Greater Noida, offering undergraduate programmes in Business Analytics and Business Marketing, and postgraduate programmes including MBAs in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Logistics & Supply Chain Management. The university is also collaborating with Indian institutions like the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Jal Shakti, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for joint research initiatives.
- Victoria University will establish its India campus in Noida, offering undergraduate degrees in business, data science, and cybersecurity, along with postgraduate courses in MBA and Information Technology.
- La Trobe University will set up its India operations in Bengaluru. The university plans to offer undergraduate programmes in Business (Finance, Marketing, Management), Computer Science (AI, Software Engineering), and Public Health. It will also collaborate with IIT Kanpur to open a Joint PhD Academy focusing on health, water, and urban planning.
- University of Bristol is planning to begin its India operations in Mumbai by 2026. The institution will offer joint undergraduate-to-master’s programmes, student exchange initiatives, and collaborative research in areas such as artificial intelligence, design, and digital technologies. These efforts will be in partnership with ATLAS SkillTech University (Mumbai) and Krea University (Sri City) under a “3+1” degree pathway, allowing Indian students to complete three years of undergraduate studies in India and pursue their master’s degree at Bristol.
The ABSS platform brought together educators, policymakers, industry leaders, and government officials to assess the progress of NEP 2020 and discuss its future direction. The move to welcome international institutions is seen as a major step towards enhancing academic standards and global competitiveness in Indian higher education.
