Campus Calling! India Welcomes 5 Foreign Universities With Open Books

In a first for Indian higher education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued Letters of Intent to five top foreign universities to set up full campuses in India. The initiative, under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, is to make available world-class education to Indian students at one-third of the cost of foreign study, with all five campuses to be set up in Navi Mumbai and classes to begin as early as December 2026.

 

Key Highlights:

 

•⁠  ⁠The Five Universities

 

University of York (UK)

 

University of Western Australia (UWA)

 

University of Aberdeen (UK)

 

Illinois Institute of Technology (USA)

 

IED Istituto Europeo di Design (Italy)

 

•⁠  ⁠Affordable Global Education: The courses will be 25–30% lower than what students have to pay to study overseas, hence making foreign degrees more affordable.

 

•⁠  ⁠Strategic Location: The campuses will be located in a master-planned International Education City along the alignment of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, and UWA will also have a second campus in Chennai.

 

•⁠  ⁠Timeline: The universities will take 18 months to become operational, with the admissions likely to start around the later months of 2026.

 

Prospects: This step is likely to transform India into an international education center, providing students with access to global curricula and teachers without having to leave the country. Additional foreign universities joining in, students can expect more choices, better quality, and value for money in higher education.

 

Source: Indian Express, Hindustan Times, India Today, Times of India