What is the future for international branch campuses?
One month prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the merits of international branch campuses (IBCs) were questioned, debated and deemed “unlikely to blossom”. Such dismissal is not surprising. It’s almost expected. It’s also why, as researchers, we have spent the last 10 years gathering data to better understand the sector. And now, nearly a year into the pandemic, we believe IBCs may be better situated for success than ever before.
Of course, IBCs have long confronted criticism from detractors. The high-profile failures have been plentiful, ranging from George Mason University’s quick retreat in the United Arab Emirates to the University of New South Wales’ misguided business model in Singapore to Aberdeen University’s pre-emptive withdrawal from creating a campus in South Korea.
UGC allows top universities to set up campuses abroad
India’s top ranked universities with Institute of Eminence status, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, can now set up branch campuses abroad after India’s higher education regulator the University Grants Commission (UGC) this month amended its regulations to allow them to set up offshore campuses.
Public or private ‘Institutes of Eminence’ would have to submit an application to the Ministry of Education with details of their 10-year strategic vision plan and a five-year implementation plan, including academic plans, faculty recruitment, student admissions plan, research, infrastructure development, financial, administrative and governance plans, with clear annual milestones and identifiable outcomes, according to the UGC, which will also review the applications together with an Empowered Experts Committee.
Lessons from Monash
Updated:
Updated:
December 21, 2020 22:15 IST
The experiences of other countries could offer ideas to India as it considers establishing international branch campuses
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The experiences of other countries could offer ideas to India as it considers establishing international branch campuses
One of the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 was to allow universities in the top 100 category of the World University Rankings to operate in India. Although this recommendation has generated a lot of discussion, one major gap is the inadequate focus on the potential role and suitability of international branch campuses (IBC) in the Indian environment.