Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K
Australia is aggressively expanding its higher education footprint in India, shifting from traditional institutional alliances toward major new partnerships and dedicated physical branch campuses, said Australia’s High Commissioner to India Philip Green.He told The Hindu that Bengaluru has emerged as one of the primary areas for this expansion, highlighted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) securing formal regulatory clearance to open a campus in Bengaluru.”As I understand, 18 global universities have been approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to open campuses in India. Of those, seven are from Australia. That is a very big quotient,’’ said Mr. Green.Australia is the first country to establish foreign branch campuses in India. Two Australian universities are already operational in Gujarat’s GIFT City, and five more are scheduled to open across the country, he said.“One that chose to open a branch in Bengaluru is the University of New South Wales, a top-20 globally ranked institution,” he noted, terming it a massive step forward for bilateral ties. “Every one of these universities has a unique plan regarding student intake, course offerings, and employment pipelines.”When queried if Indian graduates from these local Australian campuses would secure employment directly in Australia, Mr. Green emphasised the borderless value attached to higher-education and skill sets.“These universities produce graduates with global-level qualifications. Whether they secure employment in India, Europe, North America, the Middle East, or Australia depends on the individual student. Our primary focus is delivering global-quality education for a range of jurisdictions,’’ Mr. Green said.To maximise outcomes, the Australian High Commission is actively linking inbound universities with Australian companies operating within India.“We are asking Australian corporates what specific skills they need, and what is missing from current education models,” Mr. Green explained. “We are mapping out internships that Australian corporates in India can offer to these students, ultimately building direct pathways to employment.”Cyber, critical techWhen asked about Australia’s shortage for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and AI talent, he said, “Everywhere in the world, there is a deep interest in AI at the moment. It’s difficult to satisfy all of the needs in that field.”The expansion directly addresses global deficits in cutting-edge industries, he said. While acknowledging the universal, insatiable demand for AI talent, Mr. Green pointed to other critical sectors requiring urgent investment.“Cyber and critical tech continue to be areas where we all need to be investing more, and this is perhaps even more needful in India than it is in Australia. Those are exactly the fields that Australian universities are teaching here on the ground,’’ Mr. Green said.While roughly 140,000 Indian students currently study in Australia, Mr. Green highlighted that the bilateral educational ecosystem relies heavily on diverse, multi-layered models.These include articulated degrees, such as a joint engineering programme where students split four years between Mahindra University and La Trobe University to earn degrees from both. Similarly, the University of Queensland and IIT Delhi run a joint PhD programme allowing doctoral candidates to leverage the scholarship of both top-tier faculties.“There is a very fertile layer of partnerships happening directly between Australian universities and Indian institutions, heavily supported by various Indian states, like Karnataka and Gujarat,” Mr. Green said. Published - July 04, 2026 02:43 pm IST
