2023 Regulations by UGC to Attract Foreign Universities
India’s UGC released regulations in 2023 pertaining to the establishment and operation of foreign higher education institutions’ campuses in our nation.
According to a parliamentary commission, India should work to purchase a campus from one of the top universities in the world, including Ivy League schools, as it hasn’t done so before. The panel that made the comments, which were presented to the Rajya Sabha this week, was led by Congress MP Digvijay Singh.
Parliamentary Panel Flags Absence of Top Global Universities
The Committee notes that international institutions have been establishing campuses in our country over the past few years, driven by the size of the country’s student population and government efforts to encourage partnerships and joint degrees.
But none of the world’s best colleges—Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, and the Ivy Leagues—have so far developed a campus in this country. To provide students in the country more opportunities to use the best global resources, the Committee recommends that the Department of Higher Education work to obtain the same, as per the report.
The Ivy League consists of highly respected, established US universities with excellent academic reputations. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia are some of them.
Early Entrants: UK and Australian Universities Set Up Campuses
The Rules for the Establishment and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India were promulgated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2023. Two Australian institutions, Deakin and Wollongong universities, already have campuses within the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), whereas Southampton University from the United Kingdom is now opening a campus in India this year.
Coventry University and Queen’s University Belfast have both been authorized to launch campuses in GIFT City. No US university currently runs an offshore campus in India.
Study in India (SII) Initiative: Enhancing India’s Global Education Presence
The panel highlighted that Study in India (SII) launched in 2018 is aiming to attract international students through promoting the Indian higher education ecosystem globally.
The Committee was informed that the Department’s internationalizing higher education platform is targeting the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and South East Asia. To facilitate this, UGC has already issued guidelines enabling the establishment of up to 25% of seats as supernumerary seats for foreign students. Moreover, it has issued guidelines for the setting up of alumni link cells and offices of foreign relations in institutions of higher learning, the statement added.
The report said, “It was informed that an initiative for promotion of academic and research is being collaborated, which is essentially to fund the joint research proposals of Indian higher educational institutions and a foreign higher education institution where professors of one Indian institution team up with the professors of a foreign institution and together work on a project.”
India’s Strategic Global Research Ties Across 28 Countries
As per the panel, 28 nations—such as the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and France—have been onboarded under this initiative.
Emerging technology and critical, industry, health care, food security, energy and sustainability are some of the key subjects of national strategic interest that are discussed here. 787 of these collective proposals have already been accepted.
“There has been development in this regard, as is reflected in the large number of international conferences, workshops, and general articles co-published by Indian and overseas professors,” the statement added.
Developing a Globally Integrated Higher Education System
Our Country has made commendable efforts in opening up its doors to foreign higher education institutions and promoting international academic cooperation. The efforts of UGC and the government — such as regulatory reforms, the Study in India program, and incentives for joint research — demonstrate serious intent to internationalize India’s higher education system.
Nonetheless, the lack of campuses from world top-ranked universities like the Ivy League is a serious gap that needs to be closed. This will take more than regulatory certainty and incentives; it also takes strategic diplomacy and consistent interaction with top universities around the world.
To actually convert this country into an education hub globally, it has to keep on simplifying processes, provide strong academic collaborations, and prove its value proposition to the world’s leading institutions. By doing this, not only will Indian students benefit, but also India will find a stronger place in the international academic circle
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