Australian university to tie up with Indian varsities

The University of Western Australia (UWA), which is a member of the Australian ‘Group of Eight’ research universities, plans to tie up with Osmania University, J&K University and Chennai’s Anna University by September of this year for long-term student and faculty exchange programmes. “These collaborations are also for research purposes. We already have tie-ups with IIT-Delhi and IIT-Madras. Going ahead, we will also collaborate with Indian Institute of Science,” said professor Hema Sharda, director, South Asia Relations.

UWA is focussing on research because it feels India produces good quality research scholars. At UWA itself, the number of Indian students doing research increased from three in 2006 to 250 now. In fact, the research applications at the university are growing at a rate of 50 per cent. To encourage students to take up research, UWA is offering scholarships and fee waivers to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

For postgraduate students, it is offering a 50 per cent fee waiver, so that the students pay Rs 4 lakh for research.

Of the 17,000 students at the university, 25 per cent are international students. UWA is keen to offer research programmes on climate change, micro electronics, power systems, media and communications, among others as it feels that these are the areas where there is an acute shortage of research and researchers.

So is the university focussing on research because of the slowdown? “Research has always been an integral part of UWA. But, yes, the slowdown has affected us and that is visible in the 10-20 per cent lower placements this year. So, it could be that to beat the slowdown, students are now going for higher studies and research,” added Sharda.