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The Union government on Thursday issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, to establish their campus in India, making it the first university to get LoI under the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) regulations for setting up foreign universities in the country.
UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said the university is expected to start its academic programmes in July, 2025. “The courses offered will be in subjects focusing on business and management, computing, law, engineering, art and design, biosciences, and life sciences,” Prof. Kumar said, adding that the setting up of the university’s campus in India will be beneficial for students in terms of extending course and study opportunities in the country, and for research, knowledge exchange, enterprise, and engagement.
He added that the degrees awarded by the Indian campus will be the same as in the host university. “The programmes offered in the branch campus of the University of Southampton in India will have the same academic and quality standards,” Prof. Kumar said.
The LoI was issued to the university in an event here on Thursday. Addressing the gathering, Union Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar said the development reflects both the vision of elevating the country’s educational standards to the highest global levels and delivering on the education pillar of India-U.K. cooperation.
As per the University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023 Prof. Kumar had constituted a standing committee to examine the matters related to the setting up of and operation of campuses of foreign universities in India. The online proposals of such institutions were invited through a portal. Subsequently, the University of Southampton submitted a proposal to open a branch campus in Gurugram, which was approved by the standing committee consisting of noted academicians from India and abroad.
‘Internationalisation at home’
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a post on X, said the initiative was a foot forward towards realising the goal of ‘internationalisation at home’ as envisioned in the National Education Policy. “India as a Vishwa-Bandhu is committed to fulfil its global responsibilities and build a brighter future for education, innovation and progress,” he said.
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