Recently, Australian institutes Deakin University and the University of Wollongong (UoW) became the first foreign universities to have written to the Union government about setting up independent off shore campuses in India. Patricia M Davidson, Vice Chancellor of University of Wollongong speaks to The Indian Express about the logistics of setting up a campus, the courses that will be on offer, the “internalisation” factor, the location at GIFT city and the fee structure. Excerpts:
Why have you decided to go with only STEM, finance and business courses in India?
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Recently, Australian institutes Deakin University and the University of Wollongong (UoW) became the first foreign universities to have written to the Union government about setting up independent off shore campuses in India. Patricia M Davidson, Vice Chancellor of University of Wollongong speaks to The Indian Express about the logistics of setting up a campus, the courses that will be on offer, the “internalisation” factor, the location at GIFT city and the fee structure. Excerpts:
Why have you decided to go with only STEM, finance and business courses in India?
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Are there any plans to provide post graduation courses?
Yes, we are hoping that we are able to expand the range of programmes and courses, but we want to start small and get the processes right because this is a new area. We want to be receptive and responsive to the demands in India and explore collaborations with a number of other universities. I am very interested in health care. Personally I would love to see us doing health-related projects but we thought GIFT City is really this hub around banking, technology, infrastructure, innovation. That is why we have chosen those programmes to kickstart the university, but kickstart the GIFT region.
Was there a request from the Indian government from foreign universities to promote these specific courses?
Yes, I think Modi has a vision for GIFT City and we think those skills are very marketable and transferable globally
What has your experience been in other countries where you have offshore campuses? What kind of a benefit do you see in financing your campus in India?
Wollongong is a global University. We believe in internationalisation and education. We are a not-for-profit organisation. We have a campus in Dubai, which has been there for 30 years. To be honest, the majority of our students are Indian. The crazy thing about the UAE is that there can be second generation born there but of the Indian diaspora. Similarly, we have two campuses in Malaysia. Many of the students there are also Indian. We also have really strong collaboration in Singapore and in China and a campus in Hong Kong. In Australia, Indian students are our biggest source of international students.
Any details on the fee structure yet?
We are still working on the fee structure, but we have experience from other campuses that we have to calibrate to the local-cost structure. I see this as particularly exciting. I am always very interested in women and women empowerment. I think foreign universities coming to India are going to give a lot of opportunities for Indian women because sometimes it is harder for Indian women to go abroad financially and also for Indian women to be lifelong learners. It is hard if you have two small children to go to a different country.
We also offer scholarships and we have two targeted scholarships in India for students to come to Australia too.
Are you looking to hire faculty in India?
When we start off, we will be using faculty from Australia and our Dubai campus, but we will also be hiring local Indian teachers. We do not have a fly in fly-out model. We are really conscious of developing capacity in the local country. Our vision is to be not only just recruiting Indian faculty members but also supporting their development.
What would be the approximate strength of the students?
Our first cohort will be around 30 to 40 students per each course. We really wanted to start soon and develop and grow. We are building the infrastructure right now, that’s why we want to make sure that we have the systems and processes so we can take care of the students. GIFT City is the green site where it is stunning to build and grow.
What is the incentive here?
Business is not our motivation. We want to be partners in India. Within our region , geopolitically, India is a very important part for us. There is a huge Indian diaspora in Australia. We share many characteristics for democracy and we also share our history of colonisation. It makes sense to have partners in the region where you’re aligned politically, economically.
What kind of students would you be expecting?
It is open to all kinds of students who meet the admission criteria and it will be comparable to any other private institutions. This is not a business decision. Covid-19 has taught us that we need to form partnerships. The commitment of our prime minister has made it very clear that he wants India to be our friend and our partner.
Why do you think Indian students should study in an Australian University here and not in Australia despite the benefits they might get there?
Even though some things are better, the pool of family and culture is very important. I think it is time for all of us to have a particularly colonised country to shake off that idea that if you think outside is better. It is now time for people to have choices. We are also looking for the option for students to do 2 years here and then go to Australia to UOW and then be eligible for migration pathways.
Do you think it will be a successful experiment?
I surely think it will be. We have not got all the regulatory approval but we are launching in September with some short courses as soon as we get our final approval from the government of India. We will be marketing actively. We have also been doing a lot of work with local businesses in the Gujarat region to help us identify potential students. We have been assessing capability in that region. We have a meeting scheduled next week to finalise the final regulatory approval.
We have been in close collaboration with the Bombay Stock Exchange because we want the experience of students enrolling in finance to be real.
Courtesy : The Indian Express
