New Delhi: In a push to internationalise India’s education landscape, the Centre Thursday granted permission to the UK-based University of Southampton to establish a campus in Gurugram, Delhi-NCR.
The University of Southampton, which is among the top 100 universities in the QS World University Rankings (a portfolio of college and university rankings), received a letter of intent from India’s higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) during an event in New Delhi Thursday.
The UGC has confirmed that the first academic session is likely to begin in July 2025, and the campus will hire faculty from both India and abroad.
With this, the University of Southampton will become the first international university to set up a campus in India under the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023, notified in November last year.
The regulations, which allow top 500 foreign universities to set up campuses in India, were prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which envisioned that “top universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India”.
The UGC guidelines provide autonomy to foreign universities to decide their admission processes and fee structures, even as the Commission itself will retain the power to keep a close watch on the operations of those universities.
The UGC had also launched an online portal seeking applications from foreign universities to apply for the process of launching their campuses in India.
Last year, two Australian universities—Deakin University and the University of Wollongong—opened their branch campuses in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), after receiving approval from the International Financial Services Centre Authorities (IFSCA) last year. The universities do not come under the UGC guidelines.
According to a statement released by the University of Southampton, a public research university, its Delhi-NCR campus will deliver education, research, knowledge exchange and enterprise activity in the country.
“We will develop world-class, work-ready graduates with specialist and transferable skills that will enhance India’s fast-growing knowledge economy. We will undertake research and knowledge exchange in partnership with local universities, industries and government and apply the results to deliver real-world social and economic impact,” Professor Andrew Atherton, Vice-President International and Engagement, University of Southampton, said in the statement.
Campus to focus on research and innovation
According to a statement released by the Indian government, the university has submitted a 10-year projected course rollout plan.
For instance, in its first year, it will offer various undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including bachelor of science degrees in computer science, business management, accounting and finance, and economics; and master of science degrees in international management and finance.
In the second year, it will add courses in software engineering, creative computing, and economics.
And in the third year, it will start offering courses in law and mechanical engineering.
In his address at the event Thursday, Atherton said the University of Southampton campus in Delhi-NCR will be as much a part of the university as any of their other campuses, and the campus’s focus will be on research and innovation.
“Our students here in India will receive the same degree and be as much a part of our student community as any other University of Southampton student, regardless of location. The campus will be the same as all other University of Southampton campuses in terms of experience, activities and status,” he said.
UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said at the event that many international institutions have shown keen interest in setting up their campuses in India. “The UGC today handed over the letter of intent to the University of Southampton, releasing the futuristic goal set up by the NEP to position India as a global education hub by promoting higher learning and research.”
Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar called it a “significant milestone” in India’s education system. “The issuance of the letter of intent to the University of Southampton, one of the top 100 universities in the world, is a testament to the strong and multifaceted bilateral ties between India and the United Kingdom, of which education is a particularly important pillar.
“The initiative will help establish a strong international footprint of ‘brand India’ in the education sphere. This is a growing reality as new technologies and service demands are sought to be harmonised with demographic deficits.”
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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