Victorian MP Jacinta Allan officially opened the centre, which will encourage educational programs, cutting-edge research and community engagement programs in India.
“The University of Melbourne is Australia’s top-ranked university, and the Melbourne Global Centre will bring their offering to India – opening up new opportunities for collaboration and connection here in Delhi,” said Allan.
The global centre was launched in the presence of officials from the University of Melbourne, the Australian High Commission in India, students, alumni, and other stakeholders.
According to Sara Wills, acting deputy vice chancellor, global, culture, and engagement at the University of Melbourne, the centre will facilitate student mobility opportunities, alumni events and other community initiatives in India.
“The centre will also host lively cultural performances and artistic exhibitions,” Wills told The PIE News.
“As it is a meeting place, it will be where our researchers base themselves when conducting research in India, and when collaborating, and a place for our academics to come together in person and virtually.”
The University of Melbourne has collaborated with several Indian institutions it has partnered with on several educational programs over the past 16 years.
“With Indian students being our third largest cohort of international students, with a thriving Indian diaspora in Melbourne, it makes sense for us to build a permanent ‘home’ in India to enable greater long-term planning and partnerships,” said Wills.
Moreover, the centre will not serve as a teaching hub or an offshore campus but will provide training in non-teaching avenues.
“While the Global Centre will not offer any award teaching that results in university degrees, it may offer non-award training like professional development or skills enhancement programs,” added Wills.
“It will provide training to individuals aiming to upgrade their skills in particular areas,” Michael Wesley, deputy vice-chancellor, global, culture and engagement at the University of Melbourne told the Indian news agency PTI.
“For example, it could offer training to civil servants on various topics and methods. Additionally, it will facilitate student exchanges.”
The centre will also be an avenue for students at the University of Melbourne to visit Delhi and connect with students at Indian universities for joint projects and workshops, according to Wesley.
Though two public Australian universities, Deakin University and University of Wollongong, have already set up campuses in India, the University of Melbourne has no plans for the same anytime soon.
“At this stage, we have no intention of opening a teaching campus in India as it doesn’t align with our model of capacity building and scalability,” stated Wills.
“We believe we can have a greater impact on education and research by doing this through collaborations and partnerships rather than a fixed campus in a single Indian city.”
However, the university has plans to expand into Asia and India in the coming years as it sees more potential for international collaborations.
“Our Advancing Melbourne Globally strategy, which launched earlier this year, reinforces our commitment to become a knowledge hub for Asia and the Pacific, uniting educational excellence with international research collaboration,” said Wesley.
It makes sense for us to build a permanent ‘home’ in India to enable greater long-term planning and partnerships.
Sara Wills, University of Melbourne.
The University of Melbourne’s expansion into Asia is in line with its host state Victoria’s plans to attract more transnational educational partnerships.
On September 16, Allan announced the launch of Yes to International Students fund – a new $5 million investment – in Delhi.
The initiative will help Victorian universities and TAFEs with targeted seed funding to grow partnerships to deliver more education overseas.
As per reports, the move is being seen as a way to circumvent international student caps in Australia.