Gandhinagar, Mar 23 (PTI) The convocation ceremony of the the first graduate batch of Deakin University at GIFT City campus highlights the transformation of India as a global knowledge centre and a reflection of the growing partnership between India and Australia, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Monday.
Deakin University is the first foreign university to set up a physical campus in India. Located in GIFT City, the campus offers postgraduate programs in Business Analytics and Cyber Security.
Addressing the event, Patel said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, global need-based transformation of the country’s education sector has taken place. For this reason, the role he has played in digital and technology driven education in higher educational institutions has been important.” The convocation ceremony of the first batch of graduates at its Gift City campus, which has started the journey of Deakin University as an international branch campus in India, is not just an occasion to confer degrees, he said.
“It is also an occasion to highlight to the world the transformation that India has taken as a global knowledge centre. This convocation is also a reflection of the growing partnership between India and Australia,” Patel asserted.
The PM has looked forward to the welfare of the world with the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and under his guidance, Gujarat is moving beyond trade and tradition and emerging as a global economic and knowledge centre, Patel said.
“With his vision, the PM adopted the approach of ensuring that the best in the world is available to the youth of Gujarat in their own backyard. As a result, sector specific universities like Forensic Sciences University, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Maritime University and Rakshashakti and National Law University have been started in the state,” the CM said.
Apart from this, he said that GIFT City is a living example of the Prime Minister’s vision, with a unique integration of financial services, technology and education and four operational foreign universities.
“There has been a continuous increase in the institutions of higher education in the country under the leadership of the Prime Minister. In 2014, the number of IITs in the country was 16, which has today increased to 23. Global campuses of IITs have also been started. The number of IIMs has increased from 13 to 21 and the number of AIIMS has also increased from 7 to 20,” he said.
The Chief Minister said National Education Policy 2020, prepared under the guidance and leadership of the Prime Minister, has brought education in line with global standards.
Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green was also present on the occasion. PTI KA BNM
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