Deakin University Australia became the first international university from anywhere in the world to establish an international branch campus at GIFT City, Gandhinagar as well as the first to set-up a standalone branch campus in India. From ideation to commencement of teaching and learning – a clear eighteen months.
The University of Southampton Delhi has made history as the first UK university to launch a comprehensive international campus in India under new University Grants Committee (UGC) regulations. In partnership with Oxford International Education Group, the University of Southampton Delhi will open its comprehensive campus as a pioneer in this new educational landscape, ready to welcome its first cohort in 2025, just 18 months after its UGC application process began.
Deakin University and University of Southampton will lead a workshop on the establishment of International Branch Campuses in India – with a particular focus on two different models – 1. GIFT City and 2. UGC. This will be an opportunity to share experiences and learnings, with inputs from key advisory functions from India including how to effectively address legal, finance, people and cultural issues to deliver world class outcomes in-line with the objectives of the New Educational Policy.
The primary factors fostering the establishment of the campus are:
1. Deakin University’s existing network – Deakin was the first foreign university to establish operations in India in 1994. This has helped establish Deakin as a leader in the overseas education sector and our proud relationship with India continues with the establishment of the new GIFT City Campus.
2. As a Top 100 university and founding member of the Russell Group, Southampton has engaged with India for over five decades, fostering unique research and academic partnerships. Building on its local and global networks and insights from its extensive expertise in delivery of world class educations programmes outside of the UK, the launch of the Delhi campus marks a strategic step toward becoming a truly global university. 1. Both Universities have drawn extensively on the advice and support of strategic partners on issues as diverse as policy intention through to recruitment and admissions as they have established the academic, legal and operational frameworks necessary for success.
3. Both Universities have drawn extensively on the advice and support of strategic partners on issues as diverse as policy intention through to recruitment and admissions as they have established the academic, legal and operational frameworks necessary for success.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The workshop will benefit international education providers who are keen to understand the key factors and processes that underpin the establishment of a successful International Branch Campus in India. They proposed speakers / facilitators are the on-ground personnel who partnered with Deakin and Southampton.
The workshop will be led by Mr John Bolton, Executive Director of International Branch Campuses at Deakin University and supported by senior representatives from Southampton University and selected representatives their strategic partners.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Global Education Providers, Administrators, Education and Training Authorities, TNE, etc.
TARGET AUDIENCE LEVEL:
Intermediate
Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, India
Ketaki Gor Mehta is a Partner in the GIFT City and Financial Services Regulatory Practice of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and has been helping foreign universities in setting up branch campuses at the International Financial Services Center at GIFT City, India.
Managing Director, GROK Global, USA
Ben Barth is currently the Managing Director of Grok Global Services, providing in-country resources and expertise for educational institutions in key education markets. Prior to this, Ben served as a Trade Commissioner and Education Officer at the Consulate General of Canada in Guangzhou. Ben also worked as a Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada in China, focusing on education and natural resources portfolios.
Practice Lead - GIFT City, InCorp, India
Meet Thakkar, based in Mumbai, MH, IN, is currently a Leader - GIFT City Practice and Taxation at InCorp India. Meet Thakkar brings experience from previous roles at In.Corp Advisory, Manish Modi & Associates (part of Synthesis Group) and D.R. Doshi & Co. Meet Thakkar holds a 2010 - 2015 CA in Accounting and Finance @ The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Executive Director, South Asia, GROK Global, India
Geetanjali Sharma serves as Grok’s Executive Director for South Asia, based in New Delhi, India. Geetanjali provides operational oversight in India while also supporting Grok’s wider portfolio of solution services leveraging her deep knowledge of the South Asia market. With a career spanning nearly 20 years in the education industry, Geetanjali’s breadth of knowledge and expertise includes institutional representation, student recruitment management, traditional and digital marketing campaign development, education agency engagement, team leadership, and operations management. Geetanjali also holds a Master’s degree in Economics.
Program Delivery Manager, Deakin University, Australia
Leading Deakin’s International Branch Campus (IBC) programs to forge new opportunities for Deakin through the establishment and expansion of teaching campuses in GIFT City, India and Bandung, Indonesia. I work collaboratively with colleagues within Deakin and across partner organisations and institutions to drive the successful execution of programs and initiatives at both new campuses, fostering connection and problem solving to achieve organisational objectives.
Head, Campus Operations, Deakin University, Australia
Executive Director, International Branch Campus, Deakin University, Australia
John is currently Deakin’s Lead in Australia, advancing the IFSC-GIFT City (India) international branch campus (IBC). The first University in the world to open a IBC in India, the first university in the world to obtain Government in-principle approval, and the first IBC Deakin will set up overseas. The announcement was made by the Honourable, Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese on 8th March 2023, in Ahmedabad, India. He is also part of the Australia-UK-Indonesia team, leading the establishment of Deakin’s Bandung Campus in Indonesia.
Chief Development Officer, Oxford International Education Group, United Kingdom
David was previously Deputy Vice Chancellor, International at Coventry University - responsible for all international activities including joint ventures, recruitment and collaborative delivery.
He implemented an ambitious agenda involving a more than 6-fold increase in recruitment, establishing the UK’s largest overseas collaborative delivery programme ~20,000 students in 27 countries.
Monday 24 March 2025
12:30 - 15:30
MR 405
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