Deakin University inaugurates India campus, receives 500 applications from varied backgrounds 

The selection criteria include undergraduate (UG) percentage, and CAT requirements, followed by a personal interview. In the first round of screening, the acceptance rate stands at 10 percent.

Deakin University, Australia, announced on January 10 the inauguration of its first international branch in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, during the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024. The institute said it will soon also offer short-term courses for students, employees, and government staff in topics ranging from defence, and cybersecurity – mostly limited to emerging technology areas.

So far, the institute has received around 500 applications from varied backgrounds, with 40 to 50 percent from an engineering background and having work experience. The majority of the applicants are from Ahmedabad followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Chennai.

The institute would be offering two postgraduate (PG) courses in business analytics and cyber security. Open for just 100 students for each course in the initial years, the fees for both degrees are currently set at Rs 21 lakh for two years. However, contrary to the Australian campus, the course at the Indian campus can be fast-tracked to 18 months since students may not need to take a break from the course.

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The selection criteria include undergraduate (UG) percentage, and CAT requirements, followed by a personal interview. In the first round of screening, the acceptance rate stands at 10 percent.

Deakin GIFT City Campus applications close on 31 March 2024, with classes scheduled to commence in July 2024.

In the recruitment process, 80 percent of the facilities will be staffed by Indians, with the remaining 20 percent from abroad. Further, the institute plans to offer two fully funded scholarships that will be awarded to economically challenged students. However, the process is still under deliberation.

The teaching method would be same as offered in the Australian campus. Officials also said that the institute would encourage use of generative AI in assignments, projects etc instead of restricting it.

Role of GIFT City

GIFT City has been receiving attention for getting new investments. One97 Communications Limited (OCL), the parent company of payments major Paytm, said it will invest Rs 100 crore in the city in Gujarat to build a global financial ecosystem.

In November 2023, Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said the opening up of foreign universities on Indian soil is in line with the Nation Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s vision of the internationalisation of education.

“Policies in GIFT City have played a historical role by enabling the first international branch campus to be established. History has already been written linked to NEP with what's happening here. The idea of GIFT City clearly says that for India to prosper, businesses, government and universities need to work together to shape and define the education portfolio, the curriculum, and the research initiatives that get carried out to meet the needs of the nation,” Professor Iain Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University to Moneycontrol.

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To be sure, GIFT-IFSC is a tax-neutral financial centre that aims to compete with hubs like Singapore as it provides fiscal incentives and a lenient regulatory environment. PM Modi recently said India wants to expand the role of GIFT City to make it a new-age financial services and technology nerve centre.

The International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, is spread over 880 acres. There are two international stock exchanges, a bullion exchange and 23 international banking units with a cumulative asset size of $35.84 billion.

Last year, the University of Wollongong (UOW) Australia said it would commence its India operations in 2024 with a Graduate Certificate in Computing and a Master in Computing (Data Analytics), followed by other undergraduate programmes in GIFT City.

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“We're starting small, but we very much have the aspiration to grow here. The Governor of Gujarat said there are plans for 8 lakh people living within the immediate environment or GIFT city within 10 years. There's 100s of apartments coming up here. Now, this is going to be a business and technology hub, within 5 years, at a level that I think will be pretty impressive,” Martin said.

The institute said the GIFT City makes the perfect spot to do something first in the country, thanks to benefits ranging from tax benefits, ease of business, and more importantly not being regulated, Martin added.

Global computing major Nvidia said its partner Yotta is set to commission an "artificial intelligence data centre" in GIFT City before the end of March.

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In a first, employees working in units in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) may be eligible for a permit to access liquor, which can only be obtained from the designated wine-and-dine area within the facility, for two years, a gazette notification stated.