The University of Melbourne has announced a collaboration with three universities in India, namely the University of Madras, Savitribai Phule Pune University, and Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management in Hyderabad. This partnership will provide a dual degree programme in Bachelor of Science, as stated by Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell on Thursday, March 9.
The dual degree programme works in the following way: Indian students who enrol in this programme can complete their degree both in their home country and abroad. The first two years of study will take place in India, followed by two years on the Melbourne campus. Upon successful completion of the programme, Indian students will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne, with an option for their local institution to award the degree.
Moreover, Indian students have the opportunity to study up to six master's subjects in their last year of study. This enables them to accelerate their progress towards a master's degree in various fields, such as science, engineering, public health, and data science. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne made this announcement while accompanying the Australian Prime Minister's Trade Delegation to India. The announcement was made in Mumbai.
Speaking in this context, Maskell said, "The new dual degree is the logical next step of the Bachelor of Science (Blended), which was co-designed and quality assured by the University of Melbourne, and is now offered by seven institutions across the country. The University of Melbourne is delighted to continue expanding our programmes to give more Indian students direct pathways to complete their studies."
"With demand for our existing programmes continuing to grow, we are pleased to be working together with prestigious local universities to be part of the internationalisation of education in India and at home in Australia," he added.
First partnership
Additionally, the University of Madras, SPPU and GITAM are the inaugural partners in the Bachelor of Science Dual Degree programme. The University is currently in talks with other institutions to provide the dual degree from 2024.
This initiative followed the announcement made by the University Grants Commission (UGC) last year that Indian and foreign higher educational institutions can offer joint or dual degrees and twinning programmes and notified the regulations for these programmes.
According to the approved regulations, a twinning programme is a collaborative arrangement where students enrolled in an Indian higher education institution may undertake their programmes of study partly in India, in compliance with the relevant UGC regulations, and partly in a foreign higher educational institution, as stated in a report by PTI.
