An Australian university hopes to inaugurate a new campus on the outskirts of New Delhi as part of a partnership with the state government, subject to approval from regulators. Western Sydney University (WSU) announced its intention to establish a branch campus in Greater Noida, a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, around an hour’s drive from central Delhi. If approved, WSU will become the first Australian campus in India, outside of GIFT City. Two Australian institutions, Deakin University and the University of Wollongong, have already inaugurated teaching spaces in the GIFT City special economic zone.

“We are deeply committed to expanding our presence in India and passionate about taking Western Sydney to the world,” says Deborah Sweeney, WSU’s acting vice-chancellor. “We are preparing our application for this stand-alone campus, which will be focused on creating impactful solutions for sustainable agriculture and food security, with teaching, research and technological innovations specifically tailored for India’s agritech, technology and allied industries.”

Sweeney recently signed a memorandum of understanding with officials of the Uttar Pradesh government. However, the university will need approval from India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) before it can move ahead with these plans.

A representative from UK’s University of Southampton, which is the only foreign institution to have received approval so far outside of GIFT City since guidelines were released in 2023, previously told Times Higher Education that the process of securing assent had been “tough” but “moved quickly”.

If approved, WSU intends to offer programmes including computer science, business and engineering and hopes to commence teaching in 2026. According to the UP government, the campus will open in two phases — initially in an existing “commercial” building, before a fully-fledged campus is developed on a “sprawling seven-acre site”. The agreement is part of Uttar Pradesh’s Higher Education Incentive Policy, which provides financial incentives to domestic and international institutions that set up in the state.

It is unclear whether WSU is receiving either state government funding or gifted land. However, the cost of setting up campuses in India has been a key challenge for cash-strapped foreign institutions hoping to expand abroad. While other would-be education hubs have historically offered incentives in the form of infrastructure subsidies to entice foreign institutions to move in, the Indian government has not.

WSU already has existing branch campuses in Vietnam and Indonesia.