Joint teaching and research collaborations along with international student mobility are set to increase between Australia and India after seven Australian universities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of India’s Institutions of Eminence, the OP Jindal Global University (JGU).
A delegation led by Professor C Raj Kumar, the Founding Vice-Chancellor of JGU, visited Australia earlier this month where he signed the MoUs with leading seven Australian universities which include Macquarie University, University of New South Wales, University of New England, University of Newcastle, University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and the Western Sydney University.
Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency, Hon. Margaret Beazley who hosted the signing at the Government House in Sydney said the new partnership will strengthen links between Australia and India.
“These partnerships will benefit Indian and New South Wales students and faculty members, who will gain opportunities to deepen their educational and cultural connections, while also promoting important links that will foster academic excellence in our two nations,” Her Excellency, Hon Beazley said.
Source: Supplied
“This is a historic moment for JGU,” JGU’s Founding Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar told SBS Hindi.
“India and Australia share values of democracy, pluralism and the rule of law. As the youngest university to break into the QS World University Rankings, the signing of these agreements reflect JGU’s commitment to promote internationalisation and meaningful partnerships with the leading Australian universities,” Professor Kumar said.
JGU is also home to the Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS) that is focused on the India-Australia bilateral relationship. CIAS is led by an Australian Academic, Professor Shaun Star, who also serves as an Associate Professor & Associate Dean at the Jindal Global Law School at JGU.
“The Centre for India-Australia Studies (CIAS) housed in an Indian university, aims to inspire the next generation of Australian and Indian students to learn about and embrace the opportunities in each country and to contribute to the enduring partnership between the two nations. CIAS is working towards developing an Australian imagination in India and an Indian intellectual presence in Australia,” CIAS Director, Professor Shaun Star said.
Gandhi Jayanti celebrations at University of New South Wales, Sydney. Source: Supplied
Student exchanges between Australia-India grow
More than 100 Australian students will head to India in early 2020 for various India Immersion Programmes held under government’s New Colombo Plan.
In contrast, Indian students continue to drive growth in the higher education sector in Australia.
According to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Indian students are the second-largest source of international students to Australia.
In 2018-19, Indian education exports rose by $1.7 billion to $5.5 billion while India’s share of education exports rose from 12% to 15%.
As of October 2019, 136,417 Indian international students had enrolled at Australian institutes this year, according to the Department of Education.
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