UNSW unveils branch campus plans as elites join rush to India

UNSW Sydney has outlined plans for an outpost in India, marking a rare venture by a top-flight university into the financially risky world of foreign branch campuses.

UNSW intends to offer five degrees – a master’s qualification in cyber security and bachelor’s courses in computer science, data science, business and media – from a campus in the southern technology hub of Bengaluru. Programmes will begin in August for an estimated 200 students, with the university hoping to expand enrolments to 10,000 within a decade.

It also plans research partnerships in fields including renewable energy, health, transport and education. The campus, in Bengaluru’s Manyata Tech Park, will be a majority owned joint venture with Indian edtech company Eruditis.

Vice-chancellor Attila Brungs said the development marked an “important milestone” in the university’s “Progress for All” strategy, launched early this year. It includes an ambition to expand the university’s transnational educational offerings in “key regions globally”.

Brungs said that as a hub for information technology, engineering and financial technology, Bengaluru was a good match for UNSW’s research strengths. “We spent a fair bit of time looking at…the Indian market, particularly around Bengaluru. There is a real demand in India for high quality undergraduate education but also a strong demand for research partnerships.”

The announcement occurred during a visit to India by federal education minister Jason Clare, skills minister Andrew Giles, assistant international education minister Julian Hill and numerous sector leaders. The move signals a change in approach within Australia’s top-ranked Group of Eight (Go8) universities, which – with the notable exception of Monash University – have largely steered clear of foreign branch campuses.

Instead, they have dominated the lucrative trade in onshore international enrolments. Last year the Go8 members collectively earned A$6.7 billion (£3.3 billion) in fees from overseas students enrolled at their home campuses – A$1.7 billion more than the other 30 publicly funded universities combined.

UNSW boosted its international education earnings by 61 per cent in 2024 to A$1.4 billion. It was Australia’s fastest growing international educator, admitting 14,179 equivalent full-time foreign students last year.

However, the federal government is clamping down on onshore enrolments and urging universities to pivot to transnational education. UNSW has been given an indicative quota of 10,350 places for new onshore international students next year, and risks repercussions if it significantly exceeds that figure. Some categories of students, including those transferring from offshore campuses, do not count towards the quota.

Brungs said he had been focussed on expanding UNSW’s transnational operations since arriving there in 2022. “But absolutely, the government’s current approach gives real impetus to doing these things faster.”

He said India, which had supplied UNSW with students ever since the 1950s, was a logical choice for a transnational operation – particularly after Indian education minister Dharmendra Pradhan outlined the challenges of educating the country’s “growing population” during a visit to UNSW’s Sydney campus in 2022.

UNSW is not the only Go8 member to express a newfound interest in offshore campuses. The University of Western Australia (UWA), whose vice-chancellor Amit Chakma is part of Clare’s delegation, has declared its intention to be the first Go8 institution to establish a physical academic presence in India.

UWA plans to establish a campus in Mumbai and a second one in Chennai, although it is yet to reveal when. It has appointed David Das, a longstanding Deakin University executive who helped set up the first foreign university branch campus on Indian soil, as chief operating officer for UWA India.

“We are not just expanding our presence,” Chakma said. “We are building shared pathways for talent, discovery and impact across both our nations.”

UNSW has likewise made appointments to progress its international operations. Computational designer Nicole Gardner has been enlisted as academic lead for “global education initiatives”, the university’s rebadged transnational education arm, while a “group ventures business development team” has been established to scout for transnational education opportunities.

UNSW’s last major overseas gambit, a campus in Singapore, closed just a semester after its 2007 opening. “As with any pioneering venture, there is a fuller appreciation of the risks involved once the venture becomes operational,” then vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer said at the time.

Brungs said UNSW had learned from the “well documented” lessons of its Singapore venture and the “successes and failures of other universities around the world”. The Indian plan had been informed by market intelligence from a 12-strong student recruitment team in the subcontinent. “Doing a partnership with local experts is another risk mitigation factor,” he added. “We did a lot of due diligence.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com