UNSW gets green light to open India campus in Bengaluru

The Sydney-based university received the thumbs up for its campus plans in the southern Indian city as education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Australian counterpart Jason Clare jointly handed over the LOI on the sidelines of the AIESC meeting on Monday.

“I am very happy to welcome UNSW to India; to watch the emergence of new connections between Indian and Australian students, academics and industry, to help realise India’s vision to be a global destination for education, knowledge creation and innovation from which all of society can benefit,” stated Pradhan after the announcement, a sentiment seconded by Clare.

“Education is one of Australia’s biggest exports. And it is not a one-way street. It’s not just about students coming here. It’s also Australian universities coming to them. This is a great example of that,” stated Clare.

“UNSW coming to India will create the highest ranked university in the country. It will open up new opportunities for young people in India and bring our two countries even closer together.”

Indian students and scholars have enriched UNSW’s classrooms, laboratories and partnerships in Australia for more than 70 years. It is a privilege for UNSW to now come to them, supporting them in their own country
_{^{Attila Brungs, University of New South Wales}}

While the University of Southampton’s India campus, part of the UK’s Russell Group, is currently the highest-ranked in the country at 87th in the QS 2026 rankings, UNSW sits at 20th globally and second in Australia, positioning it to become India’s highest-ranked institution.

UNSW’s India campus, which will offer undergraduate programs in business, media, computer and data science, plus a postgraduate degree in cybersecurity, is set to play a key role in its 2035 strategy, Progress for All.

The campus is expected to support the university’s goals for global impact through transnational education, research excellence, student success and broader societal benefit, it said.

“UNSW Bengaluru will create opportunities in India for access to world-class education and open pathways for talented students who might wish to remain closer to home, and empower them as the next generation of changemakers. It will enable Indian students for the first time to study at a global top 20 university campus in India,” stated Attila Brungs, vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales.

He added that the university will work closely with the Indian government “to support its National Education Policy 2020 priorities around internationalisation, research excellence and improved graduate outcomes”.

“Indian students and scholars have enriched UNSW’s classrooms, laboratories and partnerships in Australia for more than 70 years. It is a privilege for UNSW to now come to them, supporting them in their own country.”

The Bengaluru campus adds to UNSW’s growing footprint in India, building on its longstanding partnerships with leading Indian institutions and government bodies, including Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, the National Law School of India, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

UNSW joins Victoria University, the University of Western Australia (UWA), La Trobe University and Western Sydney University in planning India campuses under the University Grants Commission’s international branch campus regulations, while Deakin and the University of Wollongong have already opened in GIFT City.

Just last week, UWA announced plans to begin academic programs in India by August 2026, starting with its technology-focused Chennai campus, followed later by a business-oriented campus in Mumbai. Victoria University, also set to open its Gurugram campus by mid-2026, will adopt the VU Block Model, where students study one subject at a time in intensive four-week blocks, resulting in smaller, more interactive classes.

The announcement comes as a high-level Australian delegation – including Clare, skills and training minister Andrew Giles, and assistant minister for international education Julian Hill – visits India to strengthen Australia’s higher-education ties with the country.

Their agenda includes advancing plans for seven Australian university campuses in India — with UNSW as the latest addition — as well as expanding critical-skills courses, aligning teacher-education and early-childhood qualification standards, and strengthening innovation in education delivery.

The delegation, which includes university VCs and representatives from Universities Australia, TEQSA, Jobs and Skills Australia and the Australian Skills Quality Authority, is also attending sector roundtables and engaging with Indian institutions and senior officials during the trip.

The meeting also highlighted other key developments in India-Australia higher education collaboration. Under the SPARC scheme, 10 new joint research projects between Indian and Australian higher education institutions were announced, along with new cooperation frameworks in areas such as Early Childhood Care and Education and teacher professional development.

“India is one of Australia’s most important education partners. AISEC plays an important role in strengthening collaboration and building the education, research and skills base of both countries,” read a statement from the the Australian Ministry of Education’s media centre.

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