Unions, Education and Skills Development and Enterprise Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Australian counterpart Jason Clare, Australian Government MP, visited the future campuses of Wollongong and Deakin Universities in Gandhinagar. They were briefed in detail about the progress and future initiatives of their campuses. The ministers attended the 'Arambh' (commencement) event, which marked the official announcement of setting up campuses at GIFT City, according to an official release.

The establishment of foreign universities on Indian soil corresponds to the National Education Policy (NEP) vision of internationalization of education. This inaugural event at Arambhi was a major milestone in the landscape of global education, bringing together dignitaries, ministers and academic leaders to celebrate the establishment of Australian campuses in India, the release said.

During the event, the Vice-Chancellors of Deakin University and the University of Wollongong emphasized the importance of cross-border partnerships, highlighting the significant growth of bilateral relations between India and Australia even in difficult circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the publication, they also shared their future plans, including details of the courses that will be offered when their campuses open in India.

"Home campuses of foreign universities facilitate learning in India and also create a vibrant, diverse and inclusive educational environment as envisioned in NEP 2020," Pradhan said. "The opening of these two campuses in GIFT City is a 'gift' to the student body," he added.

He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his vision and efforts to revolutionize the Indian education system through NEP. He also emphasized that through such initiatives, students and teachers from different parts of the world get the opportunity to collaborate, learn and grow together. The policy emphasizes "domestic internationalization" to create a vibrant, diverse and inclusive educational environment in our country, the release said.