University of Western Australia Opens First International University Campus in Chennai

The University of Western Australia (UWA) has become the first international university to establish a campus in Tamil Nadu. The university began its orientation programme at its Velachery campus on Monday after receiving final approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

UWA has opened admissions for its Chennai and Mumbai campuses, with regular classes at the Chennai campus scheduled to begin on October 19.

The Chennai campus will offer four undergraduate programmes in Business Management, Computer Science, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. At the postgraduate level, students can pursue programmes in Information Technology and an MBA.

With campuses in Chennai and Mumbai, UWA now has two international campuses in India, allowing students to pursue its programmes without travelling abroad.

The Chennai campus has been established under the UGC framework that permits foreign universities to set up campuses in India. The UGC announced the initiative in 2022 and later introduced the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023.

Under the regulations, eligible foreign universities, including those ranked among the world`s top 500, can establish campuses in India with academic and administrative autonomy. They have flexibility in areas such as admission criteria, fee structures and curricula, subject to UGC regulations.

The initiative is intended to expand access to international higher education within India. The presence of foreign university campuses is expected to give Indian students an opportunity to pursue internationally recognised programmes without travelling overseas and incurring the associated tuition, accommodation and living expenses.

UWA`s Chennai campus is expected to provide students in the city and surrounding regions with access to programmes offered by an Australian university without requiring them to leave the country.

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