Reshma Ravishanker 

Over 500 applications have poured in for two courses at the newly established Deakin University campus in Ahmedabad since November last year.

Applications for the initial programs, Master of Business Analytics and Master of Cyber Security (Professional), were announced nearly three months ago at the first foreign university to establish its campus in India under the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020.

Speaking ahead of the formal inauguration of the campus in GIFT City of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Ravneet Pawha, Vice-President (Global Alliances) & CEO (South Asia), Deakin University said that the first academic year will see an intake of 50 students for each of the courses.

“We have received an overwhelming 500 applications for these courses already. Initially, we saw most applications from students in Ahmedabad. Now, we have started getting applications from Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi as well,” she said.

She said that a large portion of the applications were for that of the Business Analytics program that also incidentally had tough eligibility criteria.

“We are anticipating an acceptance rate of less than 10% currently. Students will not only have to meet the minimum eligibility requirements include a bachelor’s degree, proficiency in English, and CAT, GMAT, GATE, or GRE scores but also attend a series of one-on-one interviews by the staff of Southeast Asia region and those in India as well,” she said.

The University anticipates the process of recruitment of staff will be completed in the next six to eight weeks. While 20 % of the staff would be from Deakin University Australia, the others would be recruited from India or other countries. For the first academic year, 10 teaching faculty are being recruited.

Professor Iain Martin, Vice-Chancellor, Deakin University said, “Although there were some going back and fro for documentations, which is a necessity in any sector, we did not face any significant hurdles. Infact, we are surprised that the idea which was conceived 11 months ago has already materialized into reality. There were no procedural delays.”

Ease of doing business

Study anywhere: Students who apply for Deakin University, India campus can either complete the entire course here or have an option to purse one part of the study at the Australia Campus. Likewise, students from Australia would also visit India for a trimester.   

Same teaching-pedagogy: The same curriculum, academic framework, and style of teaching as that of the Australian campus would be followed in India.

New age courses: Continued focus will remain on offering courses in the areas of emerging technology, financial technologies, skill development, Artificial intelligence, and new age technologies.