UWA opens Mumbai campus, Fadnavis says it will boost education and research

Maharashtra's efforts to make Mumbai a global centre of knowledge, innovation, technology and talent have received a new boost. The Mumbai campus of the University of Western Australia (UWA) India was inaugurated, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis calling it a major step toward building the industry and research ecosystem of the future. Fadnavis said this requires world class institutions, infrastructure and talented manpower.

The Chief Minister said it is a matter of pride for Maharashtra that UWA, a well known research based university from Australia, is opening its first campus in India in Mumbai. UWA has become the first university among Australia's prestigious "Group of Eight" universities to open a campus in India. According to Fadnavis, the decision shows Mumbai's growing capability and its rising importance in the world. He said that while Mumbai is the country's economic, business and entertainment capital, the state government's aim is to make it a global knowledge and innovation hub for the next generation. He said that under the "Mumbai 3.0" project being developed near Mumbai, an Education City, Medi-City, Innovation City, a Global Capability Centre ecosystem, and new centres for research and industry development are being built.

The Chief Minister said the National Education Policy 2020 has brought major change to India's higher education sector and opened new avenues for international education collaboration. He said that earlier, Indian students had to go abroad for higher education, but now leading universities of the world are coming to India themselves, with Maharashtra leading the way. He said students at UWA's Mumbai campus will get world class education along with a direct opportunity to connect with the country's major financial institutions, multinational companies, the tech industry, startups, researchers and entrepreneurs. Fadnavis said he hoped joint research and education collaboration would increase on both sides in sectors such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, healthcare, critical minerals, clean energy, sustainable development and advanced manufacturing technology.

Fadnavis said Western Australia has excellent capability and Maharashtra has talent and opportunity on a large scale, so a knowledge based partnership between the two can become a strong pillar of India-Australia relations. He assured that UWA has become a partner in Maharashtra's future development journey and that the state government would give its full support to growing this partnership.

Western Australia's Premier Roger Cook called the inauguration of the Mumbai campus a historic moment in the relationship between Western Australia and India, particularly Maharashtra. He said Mumbai has been the main centre of Western Australia's engagement with India for the past 30 years, with a strong partnership built on both sides in education, research, technology, industry and public relations. Cook said UWA's Mumbai campus would give students new opportunities in global education, research, industry collaboration and international careers.

Chancellor Dr Diane Smith-Gander said an investment of about 80 million Australian dollars has been made for the Mumbai and Chennai campuses, which she said shows the commitment to further strengthening India-Australia relations. Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Fadnavis said UWA's Mumbai campus had been followed up on for the past few days. The university has announced 100 percent scholarships for three Indian students, which Fadnavis welcomed, saying it would save students the foreign exchange expense of studying abroad. He said campuses of various state universities are being built in the "Education City," where around one lakh students will be able to study in future.