A Harvard Branch in India, Prospects and Challenges

India is on the verge of opening itself to the world after half a century of keeping the doors of its higher education closed to foreigners. The traditional orientation to Swadeshi, which characterized Indian thinking at least in higher education, is changing. The Comprehensive National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 promises higher education reforms in several areas, and internationalization is prominent among them. The underlying ideas are to strengthen India’s “soft power” through higher education collaboration, bringing in new ideas and institutions from abroad to encourage reform and show “best practice”, and in general to ensure that Indian higher education Education for the first time. A global player.

New thinking

An example of new thinking was part of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India in April 2022, which included a visit to the innovative Gujarat Biotechnology University and strengthening United Kingdom-India academic cooperation. Gujarat Biotechnology University is an example for the new model of international academic partnership emerging in India. It was established by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat in partnership with the University of Edinburgh, to assist Gujarat Biotechnology University in developing strategies regarding teaching, learning, research and innovation, and quality assurance. It is a unique model in the current Indian academic context as many regulatory hurdles still exist in the country regarding international academic participation, including the operation of international branch campuses.

At present, India does not allow foreign university branch campuses to enter and operate. NEP 2020 was a turning point for the admission of foreign universities as it recommended allowing foreign universities to operate in India in the “Top 100” category under certain unrealistic circumstances. In February 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech that “world-class foreign universities and institutions would be allowed in the planned business district in the GIFT City of Gujarat” (or Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) and that they would End to be free from domestic rules to facilitate the availability of human resources.

The minister’s statement was a clear departure from the recommendations of the NEP 2020 which allows only the “top 100” category to operate in India. A similar friendly approach can be seen in the (written) reply given by Dr. Subhash Sarkar, Minister of State for Education in Lok Sabha in March. He said that two foreign institutions from France and Italy have shown interest in setting up campuses in India. The Italian Institute “Istituto Marangoni”, however, is not a university. It was pointed out that in April 2022, the University Grants Commission (UGC) constituted a committee to draft rules to allow foreign institutions in the “Top 500” category to set up campuses in India – this Realizing that more flexibility was needed.

Establishing branch campuses of top foreign universities is a good idea as it will give India the much needed global experience. But is it practical? And would foreign universities be interested? Globally, branch campuses, of which there are now about 300, provide a mixed picture. Many aim to make money for the sponsoring university – and this is not what India wants. And some have proven unstable. A recent example in this regard is the end of a decade-long partnership between Yale University and the National University of Singapore to run Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

current initiatives

There has been a slight increase in the various forms of partnership between Indian and foreign institutions. Joint PhD programs offered by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay-Monash Research Academy and the University of Queensland-Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Academy of Research (UQIDAR), both with Australian partners, are a few examples. Another example is the Melbourne-India Postgraduate Academy (MIPA). It is a joint initiative of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and University of Melbourne. MIPA offers students the opportunity to earn a joint degree accredited in both India and Australia: from the University of Melbourne and a partner Indian institution. These partnerships show that India can provide opportunities for international branch campuses as well.

If permitted, international branch campuses can function as a structurally different form of India’s private university sector. The establishment of foreign university branch campuses would primarily encourage competition between existing private universities and foreign branch institutions, but would have less impact on public universities. Branch campuses, if managed effectively, can bring much needed new ideas about curriculum, pedagogy and governance to Indian higher education – they can be an educational laboratory of sorts.

practical challenges

On the positive side, India is seen across the world as an important country and an emerging higher education power. It is the world’s second largest “exporter” of students, with 4,61,792 students studying abroad (according to the UNESCO Statistical Institute). And India has the second largest higher education system in the world. Foreign countries and universities would be keen to establish a “beach” in India and would be interested in providing opportunities for domestic campus students to learn about Indian business, society and culture, to participate in growing trade and other interactions. Huh.

Nevertheless, it will not be easy to attract foreign universities to India and even more difficult to create conditions for them to flourish. Many of those top universities are already fully engaged overseas and will likely need incentives to set up in India. Also, there are smaller but highly respected universities outside the ‘Top 500’ category that may be of more interest. Universities around the world with academic specializations focused on India may find it easier to attract those who already have research or faculty ties to the country, or who have non-resident Indians (NRIs) in senior management positions. The most important thing is to prevent profit-seekers from entering the Indian market and encourage foreign institutions with innovative educational ideas and long-term commitment. Many host countries have provided significant incentives, including building facilities and providing the necessary infrastructure. Foreign universities are highly unlikely to invest significant amounts of money.

more obstacles to overcome

A bigger challenge will be India’s “well-known” bureaucracy, especially the many regulators. If bureaucratic constraints cannot be drastically cut down, there will be no success in attracting branch complexes. Furthermore, a recent study highlighted the fact that apart from allowing domestic institutions to refund surplus money after tax clearance, a new accreditation mechanism, flexible visa rules for foreign students and faculty, are in priority areas. Financial incentives for offering programs should also be considered.

Branch campuses will be helpful in meeting the skill requirements and providing examples of different approaches to higher education. It would be worthwhile to look at the experience of other countries for both positive and negative lessons. After examining national experiences elsewhere, explicit policies can be implemented that may be attractive to foreign universities. Once policies are in place, the key to success will be relationships between universities – not grand government schemes.

Philip G. Altbach (altbach@bc.edu) is Research Professor and Distinguished Fellow of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, USA. Eldho Mathews (eldho@niepa.ac.in) is the Deputy Consultant, Unit of International Cooperation of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi.