Melbourne: An Australian university, which last month dismissed media reports of a ban on admission of Indian students, has received official permission to set up a campus in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). The University of Wollongong (UoW) Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia M. Davidson met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 and the university got the license to conduct the course in India.
In a statement issued by the university, Prof. Davidson said, “We are pleased to have received the approval and plan to begin operations at GIFT City later this year.” Davidson said, “I thank the Government of Australia, Prime Minister Modi and his Government for supporting our shared vision of providing a high quality Australian education and educational environment for UoWs in India.”
According to this year’s data, more than 2,500 Indian students are enrolled in VoW in Australia, with business, engineering and information science being the most popular courses. This year, the number of Indian students in Australia is expected to exceed the 2019 record of 75,000. Davidson said UoW aims to create a space for learning, research and industry collaboration that supports Mission GIFT City, and provides affordable Australian education within India by a highly ranked and experienced global university.
UoW plans to start with Graduate Certificate in Computing and Master of Computing in Finance Domain at GIFT City later this year, and then add Master of Applied Finance and Master of Financial Technology (FinTech) in 2024 . According to the statement of the university, after this, the course of Bachelors of Business and Computing Science will start in 2025. The university is also planning to set up a Global Capital Markets Research Center at its GIFT City campus, which will focus on training PhD students and delivery of research, with a focus on Indian capital markets.
For this UoW said that it has started working with National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and has in-principle support from Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX). The fees for the students in the GIFT City campus will be half of that of the Australia campus. Apart from this, there will also be a system of merit-based scholarships so that bright and capable students can study at GIFT City, the statement said.
UOW Senior Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Frino said, “The 21st century is truly India’s century and we are proud to be associated with its success story and its contribution to shaping a better world. Frino said that India’s young and expanding workforce and growing demand for expertly trained talent presents UoW with a unique opportunity to invest its high-quality teaching and learning capabilities in the country and create a skilled workforce of the future. . Last month, an Australian media report said UoW was among five universities that barred or banned students from some Indian states in view of a rise in fake applications to work in the country under the pretext of studying.
Denying the claims, the UoW said in a statement that it does not impose any restrictions on Indian students other than the standard admission criteria of the Australian Home Office that apply to all international students. The UOW said that instead of imposing restrictions, it has streamlined the application process for all international students, including Indian students, to reduce the time it takes to process their applications.
UoW had launched the Vice-Chancellor’s Leadership Scholarship-India last year. Students are provided with financial aid, leadership training, dedicated academic support, community networking and opportunities for global mobility. UoW has campuses in Dubai, Hong Kong and Malaysia, each employing over 200 academic staff and enrolling at least 3,000 students each, in addition to its Australian campuses.
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