"Bringing Australian education to India at half the cost": Deakin University Vice Chancellor after meeting PM Modi

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 9 : Vice Chancellor of Australia's Deakin University Iain Martin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar, where they had a productive discussion on enhancing collaboration between government and academic institutions about cybersecurity.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister welcomed Deakin University to collaborate with Indian universities to promote research and innovation.
"Prime Minister and I had a truly fantastic conversation around the future of education, skilling and research in India, clearly focused on us being in India for 30 years, but tomorrow inaugurating the first international branch campus at GIFT City of Deakin University. So this is a very auspicious and special day and to combine that inauguration with the Vibrant Gujarat festival with Prime Minister Modi being here is a very special time indeed," Martin said.
He said there is a huge amount of interest they are bringing in Australian education to India at half the cost.
"So we've only been open a few days. We've had 500 applications already. So there's a huge amount of interest and I think what we're bringing is an Australian education to India at half the cost but the same degree, but importantly heavily focused on the needs of industry. Curriculum developed in partnership with industry. So whether we're talking cybersecurity or business analytics, our first two areas, these are degrees that are needed in India," the professor added.
"They're needed globally and we can help shape in a small way some part of the future of India's national education plan."
Meanwhile, Australian High Commissioner Philip Green is leading an Australian delegation, comprising dozens of exhibitors who are eager to explore opportunities in various sectors in Vibrant Gujarat.
Green said, "We are excited about Vibrant Gujarat. I will be leading the Australian delegation. We have dozens of Australian exhibitors. We have a beautiful exhibition point. Inauguration of the first foreign branch campus ever in India".
He added, "Deakin University from Australia will be opening its foreign branch campus in India; it will be opened for Indian students in the middle of this year. We would like to invest in Education, Agri-tech, Infrastructure and tech of all sorts will be interesting for us."
This move is poised to strengthen educational ties between the two nations and provide Indian students with access to world-class Australian education.
Through the new education policy brought in in 2020, India has opened floodgates for foreign educational institutes to set up brick-and-mortar infrastructure.
Expressing the areas of interest for Australian investment, Green emphasised a focus on education, agri-tech, infrastructure, and various technological sectors.
The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was initiated by Narendra Modi in 2003, then chief minister, to put Gujarat on the world map of trade and industry. The tenth edition of the Summit will be held from January 10 to 12, 2024. For the smooth conduct of the event, several committees have been formed to look after various aspects of the summit.