Although Australia’s Deakin set up a campus last year in GIFT City in Gujarat, followed by Wollongong, the UK’s University of Southampton has become the first foreign university to operate in India under UGC (University Grants Commission) regulations. It will start classes in August 2025 in Gurugram, south of New Delhi. Prof Andrew Atherton, vice-president, International and Engagement, University of Southampton, shared with FE the difference between Southampton and other foreign universities.
Why Delhi NCR, and not GIFT City?
Prof Atherton said setting up a campus under UGC regulations will allow Southampton – ranked 80th in the world by the QS – to function like a comprehensive university. “Had we opted for the GIFT City, under the regulator IFSCA (the International Financial Services Centres Authority), our course portfolio could have been narrower than what we have planned now under the UGC,” he said.
Why narrow course portfolio at GIFT City?
GIFT City universities aim to supply job-ready talent to the 200-odd companies there, most of which need people with cybersecurity, finance, and business analytics skills. So, courses at GIFT City universities are covering these areas as of now. The course portfolio will expand, but is likely to be a gradual process. Southampton, on the other hand, will start functioning like a full university with an expansive course portfolio, including degrees in computing, business, engineering, economics, and law. “Under the UGC, we will be able to mirror in Delhi NCR what we have been doing back home in Southampton,” Prof Atherton said.
But isn’t it easy to start in GIFT City?
Sharing timelines, Prof Atherton said that UGC regulations on foreign universities were published in late November 2023. “We put up an application on January 31, 2024 – just 7 weeks after the regulations were published, because we were able to get guidance from the UGC on how to respond to the forms, etc., and we got an approval on August 29, 2024 (in just 7 months). All this was very quick, and a really easy process,” he said.
Can Deakin operate outside GIFT City?
Technically, Deakin and Wollongong have the licence to operate only in the GIFT City, not outside. Southampton could choose any place in India, and it chose Delhi NCR for the kind of opportunities available here.
How will the campus look like?
Southampton has taken an existing space in Gurugram. Student size will be 150-200 in the first year, starting next August, and grow from there year after year. “We will initially offer six undergraduate and postgraduate programmes from 2025,” Prof Atherton said. “Our plan is to invest up to £30 million over 10 years and attract more than 5,000 students.” By way of comparison, Deakin is investing A$ 4 million in the first phase.
Within 10 years, Southampton will be offering as many as 32 degrees. “We will have Indian students to begin with, and open ourselves to South Asian students soon after. There will be student mobility – students will be able to study a semester at any of our global campuses in the UK or in Malaysia,” he said. “The mix will be 75% undergraduate students, 20% postgraduate, and 5% PhD students. Faculty will be a mix of Indian and foreign.”