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Ranked among the top 300 higher education institutions in the world, the University of Surrey will open its India campus in Gujarat’s GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) City in 2026-27, initially offering programmes in artificial intelligence, finance and cyber security, as per Vice Chancellor Gaoqing Max Lu.
“We are ranked number one in the UK as far as programmes in AI are concerned… The programmes we offer will be relevant for local needs (of India). There will be options to complete programmes along with semester exchange opportunities (in the UK). As for faculty, there will be a mix (of teachers from India and teachers from the UK campus),” Professor Lu said on the sidelines of a recent higher education conference in Goa.
Surrey is the fourth university from the UK and seventh foreign university to announce an international branch campus in India since the Union government eased regulations regarding entry of foreign universities and allowing them to plough profits to their parent institutions.
Since then, foreign universities (mainly from Australia and the UK) have announced plans to enter India either through GIFT City or elsewhere under regulations by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Australia’s Deakin University (ranked 197th in QS World Rankings 2024), the University of Wollongong (ranked 162nd internationally), and Western Sydney University (375th position); and the University of Southampton (ranked 80th best university in the world), Coventry University (571st position internationally), Queen’s University Belfast (202nd position worldwide) and the University of Surrey from the UK have announced plans to enter India.
Deakin University and University of Wollongong have already opened their India branch campuses in GIFT City.
Professor Lu told journalists the decision to open a branch campus in India was taken after a delegation from the University made a recent trip to GIFT City. “My colleagues…had a productive meeting. Global University Systems (GUS) will provide us strategic support here with getting regulatory approval in India before we set up campus and with ancillary services once we start operations.” He said the tuition fee charged by the Indian campus will be differentiated from the UK Campus, and that financial aid and scholarships will be part of the university’s offering in India.
“We rank 11th in student experience in the UK (according to National Student Survey 2024) and 12th in the world for work placements (by the QS World Employability Rankings 2020). Our curriculum here (in India) will be practice based so that students secure adequate work experience,” Professor Lu said.
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This, however, isn’t the University of Surrey’s first international presence. It has the Surrey International Institute in academic partnership with the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics (DUFE) in Dalian, China.
“World Class Foreign University and Institutions will be allowed in the GIFT City to offer courses in Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, free from domestic regulations except those by the IFSCA to facilitate availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her Budget speech for Financial Year 2022-23.
GIFT City allows foreign universities 100% ownership of their India branch campuses and repatriation of profits to their parent campuses.
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