Australia’s University of Wollongong (UOW) – the second foreign university after Deakin to set up a campus in India, in the GIFT City of Gujarat – has started classes by offering scholarships to all full-time students of the inaugural batch.
Nimay Kalyani, director, UOW India, told FE that these are called the InAugural Scholarships, and all Masters and Masters Extension students are eligible for 50% tuition fee waiver in the first trimester, and all Graduate Certificate students 25% tuition fee waiver in the first trimester. “The waiver is applied at the time of fee payment, and while these scholarships are open to all citizenships, the student availing must be enrolled in a full-time course,” he said. “As the name suggests, this offer was only for the inaugural batch.”
Kalyani, however, added that UOW India will keep offering scholarships on a regular basis.
“We will soon start another scholarship called ‘Women Leaders in FinTech’, and three scholarships are available for 2024. It offers 50% tuition fee reduction for the minimum duration of an eligible course of two years, and it will commence in November,” he said.
“The waiver is applied across trimesters – with 50% tuition fee waiver in trimesters 2 and 3, and 100% in trimester 4. But the candidate must hold Indian citizenship, and must be enrolled in either Master of Financial Technology (FinTech) or Master of Financial Technology (FinTech) Extension. No application is required, and UOW India will choose the top-3 eligible enrolled students.”
UOW India is focusing on courses in IT, STEM, business and fintech, but hopes to expand the range with time. “We want to be receptive and responsive to the demands in India,” director Kalyani said.
As far as faculty is concerned, UOW India has fly-in teachers from its Australia and Dubai campuses, and is developing capacity locally as well.
There are corporate tie-ups as well. Recently, UOW India partnered with IBM to provide students with advanced training in emerging technologies like AI, cybersecurity, and blockchain. IBM’s premier education programme, IBM Innovation Centre for Education (ICE), offers cutting-edge courses under key technology areas that equip students with in-demand IT skills and expertise required to succeed in the industry.
UOW India has joined an elite group of engineering institutes in India to have the opportunity to collaborate with IBM, offering its students access to IBM ICE’s training and educational resources. “This collaboration aims to prepare students for the global job market with industry-relevant skills, internships, and career opportunities,” Kalyani said.
“Our students will benefit from placements across a diverse range of sectors, including multinational corporations, global system integrator organisations, independent software vendors, leading research and development organisations, domain business houses, start-ups, and entrepreneurial ventures.”