Education Ministry issues LOIs for four foreign universities to set up campus in India

Dharmendra Pradhan issues Letter of Intent to a representative of a foreign university at an event. Photo: PIB

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan issued Letters of Intent (LoIs) to four foreign universities — Australia’s Western Sydney University (WSU), Victoria University, La Trobe University and U.K.’s University of Bristol — for establishing their campuses in India, at a programme in New Delhi on Tuesday (July 29, 2025).

Speaking at the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam (ABSS), an event to commemorate five years of National Education Policy 2020, Mr. Pradhan said that up to 15 international universities will establish their campuses in India. “Of these, Australia’s Deakin University and University of Wollongong have already established campus in Gujarat’s GIFT city and U.K.’s Southampton University in Delhi NCR’s Gurugram,” Mr. Pradhan said.

ABSS serves as a platform for policymakers, educators, industry leaders, and government representatives to review progress under NEP 2020 and chart the way forward.

Western Sydney University (WSU) will open a campus in Greater Noida, Victoria University will set up a campus in Noida. La Trobe University will establish its India campus in Bengaluru while U.K.’s University of Bristol will establish a campus in Mumbai.

WSU plans to offer undergraduate degrees — B.A. in Business Analytics, B.A. in Business Marketing — and postgraduate degrees, MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and in Logistics & Supply Chain Management in its Greater Noida campus. WSU has partnered with All India Institute of Ayurveda for Ayurveda-modern medicine research, the Ministry of Jal Shakti on groundwater management, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on food security, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on neuromorphic engineering.

Victoria University’s Noida campus proposes to offer undergraduate degree in business, data science and cybersecurity as well as postgraduate degrees in MBA, Masters in Information and Technology.

At their India campus in Bengaluru, La Trobe University is proposing to offer undergraduate degree in Business (Finance, Marketing, Management), Computer Science (AI, Software Engineering), and Public Health as well as open a Joint PhD Academy with IIT Kanpur for health, water and urban planning.

University of Bristol is planning to start operations in 2026, and will offer joint undergraduate-to-master programmes, student exchange, and collaborative research in AI, design, and digital technologies in collaboration with ATLAS SkillTech University in Mumbai and a “3+1” degree pathway with Krea University (Sri City), enabling Indian students to complete undergraduate studies in India and pursue masters degrees at Bristol in innovation, policy, and analytics.

Mr. Pradhan also stated that various States have drawn up plans to implement pre-school or foundational level education in their mother tongue, which is the spirit of NEP 2020’s implementation. He also stated that introduction of new-age textbooks by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is a paradigm shift in education.

The Minister also announced education projects worth over ₹4,000 crore while inaugurating ABSS 2025. These include infrastructure upgrades in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalalayas.

Mr. Pradhan launched multiple digital initiatives including the TARA app portal, which aims at assessing and improving reading fluency among students in Classes 3 to 8. The app measures WCPM (Words Correct Per Minute), phrasing, intonation, and stress to assess reading expression and comprehension. He also launched My Career Advisor app, which offers access to over 1,000 career pathways, including detailed information about job roles, educational requirements, skills needed, and future prospects.

Published – July 29, 2025 09:16 pm IST

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