In a first, Australia's Deakin University to set up campus in GIFT city

Deakin University from Australia is set to become the first foreign university to set up a campus in India. The independent campus is slated to come up in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City, according to a report by The Indian Express. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Norman Albanese is expected to make the official announcement on March 8 during his visit to Ahmedabad.

Deakin University sits in the 266th spot in the QS World University Rankings. It is among the top 50 young universities in the world.

The report said, at least two Australian universities were interested in setting up campuses in India. They reached out to the central government for the same. According to the source quoted in the report, Deakin has already applied to the International Finance Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) to set up its campus. The university is expected to start operations next year. It will admit students to postgraduate programmes, the report said.

Deakin University has four campuses in Australia, which include those in Melbourne (Burwood), Geelong (Waurn Ponds and Waterfront) and Warrnambool, according to information available on the university website. Its student community includes pupils from 132 countries, with Indians making up 27 per cent, followed by Chinese (22 per cent). With nearly 60,000 total students, the highest number is at its Melbourne Burwood campus, where over 26,000 students are enrolled.

The development has come on the back of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement last year in which she talked about permitting world-class foreign universities and institutions to set up their campuses in GIFT City to offer courses in financial management, FinTech, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics "free from domestic regulations…"

According to a government official quoted in the report, there are more foreign universities that are interested in setting up campuses in the GIFT city. Among them is another Australian university called the University of Wollongong (UOW). It is ranked 85th in the world and 10th in Australia, the report added.

It is important to note that campuses operational in GIFT City will come under IFSCA rules, and UGC rules will not apply.

The Narendra Modi government officially announced its commitment to welcome foreign universities in the National Education Policy document in July 2020.