The University of York is the sixth UK university – and the fourth from the Russell Group – to announce plans for a campus in India, while the University of Western Australia is set to become the first Group of Eight institution from Australia to establish a physical campus in the country.
The announcements were made on the sidelines of the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai, organised by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting between May 1-4.
The campus announcements come just weeks after Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis revealed plans to invite the world’s top 50 universities to ‘Third Mumbai’ – a new urban development project on the outskirts of Navi Mumbai, within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
We’re taking our values-driven approach to education and research, working with a country that has an ambitious drive for global influence, skills development and economic growth
Charlie Jeffery, University of York
According to a statement by the University of York, the Mumbai campus is set to welcome students in the 2026/27 academic year and will initially offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in computer science with AI and cybersecurity, business, economics, and the creative industries.
The university’s India campus will place a strong emphasis on research, supporting both teaching and the student experience, while also “contributing to India’s growing demand for research development and innovation in areas such as food security, environmental change, and future technologies”.
“The quality of what we do here in York, and our purposes as a university for public good, will be critical to the future success of this venture in India. We’re taking our values-driven approach to education and research, working with a country that has an ambitious drive for global influence, skills development and economic growth,” stated University of York vice-chancellor, Professor Charlie Jeffery, who also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at WAVES 2025 to discuss York’s vision.
“This is a really exciting venture and we are committed to building and strengthening our connections in India and contributing to the education of its future leaders and entrepreneurs.”
According to York, the new campus in Mumbai will have its own dedicated staff, supported by the university’s curriculum and quality assurance framework.
Initially, the campus will open in an existing building in a business district of Mumbai, with plans to develop a full campus complex in the coming years.
Students will study in India, following the York curriculum as taught at its UK campus, and will graduate with a University of York degree.
In the case of UWA, while the institution has not yet set a date for the Mumbai campus, it plans to offer a range of undergraduate and master’s programs in STEM, business, and creative industries, including offerings from the UWA Conservatorium of Music.
“While we had always wanted to have international campuses, it wasn’t until the Indian government took the really innovative and bold step to change the regulatory and policy settings, that we could open in our own right, work out which operating model we wanted to have, that we thought we could bring the full power of the University of Western Australia to another country,” UWA chancellor, Diane Smith-Gander, told Times Now Digital.
“India was the country that had the foresight to change its policy settings. Also, of course, India is the country where the demographics provide a really good pool of potential students for the University of Western Australia. So it feels to me that this was just meant to be.”
According to Smith-Gander, students at the India campus will have the option to transfer to UWA’s Crawley campus in Perth, and vice versa.
Both York and UWA are currently awaiting approval from India’s higher education body, the University Grants Commission, to develop their campuses, with UWA also exploring the possibility of establishing a campus in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
“It is a privilege to welcome the University of York to Mumbai as we expand world-class educational opportunities in India. The opportunity to connect our students with the academic excellence of a Russell Group institution is particularly valuable and will offer significant academic and research benefits to students and scholars alike, while further enriching the educational landscape,” stated Fadnavis.
“Mumbai continues to attract the brightest minds from across the country, and Navi Mumbai is fast emerging as a leading educational and innovation hub. We are proud to welcome UWA to Maharashtra as it builds on our strong ties with the government of Western Australia.”
The branch campus plans by York and UWA align with a growing interest in transnational education partnerships in India.
York’s UK counterpart, the University of Southampton, is set to become the first UK university to open a campus in India this August, while two Australian institutions – Deakin and Wollongong – established campuses in Gujarat’s GIFT City last year.
While these developments are being hailed as milestones in India’s academic and research partnerships with the UK and Australia, they come at a tumultuous time for universities in both countries.
Just last month, Russell Group universities and Universities UK came together to highlight the financial challenges facing the UK’s higher education sector, following evidence presented to the House of Commons Education Committee.
Stakeholders pointed to mounting financial pressures that have resulted in significant deficits, affecting the quality of education and research activities.
In Australia, universities already grappling with funding issues are now facing broader repercussions, as US funding to some Go8 researchers has been cut under the Trump administration.
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