The first British university campus in India, set to open next year (2025) will offer a “comprehensive” programme of courses in a bid to admit thousands of students over the next decade. The University of Southampton received approval last August to establish a branch in the world’s most populous country, with a new campus planned for development in Gurugram, a city on the outskirts of Delhi.

Andrew Atherton, Southampton’s vice-president of international and engagement, says getting to this stage has been relatively quick. In November 2023, Indian authorities published regulations outlining rules for foreign institutions looking to set up campuses in the country. According to Prof. Atherton, the university submitted an application in January 2024 and went through a “robust” interview process in April — the same month that India’s mammoth General Election began.

“It was a tough process to go through, but they moved quickly,” he says. “Real hats off to India, because they put clear regulations in place. They took us through a robust process. Other universities went through it and didn’t get approval.”

Southampton which already operates a campus in Malaysia, has made opening new bases around the world part of its core strategy. It comes as stricter immigration policies hamper some UK universities’ overseas student recruitment, with many suffering financially as a result.

Speaking to Times Higher Education, Prof. Atherton insists that the new campus is not a money-making venture, with the India branch expected to focus on research as well as teaching, particularly into topics relevant to south Asia, including air quality and food security. However, he says that while the campus is not expected to make money in the short term, over time “the numbers have to stack up”.

With a large youth population, a growing middle class and limited higher education capacity, India’s appeal to Western institutions is clear. Two Australian institutions — Deakin and Wollongong universities — have already opened teaching spaces in Gift City, a special economic zone in Gujarat, with others expected to follow.

Despite the financial incentives of setting up in Gift City, Southampton chose Gurugram for its amenities and infrastructure, says Prof. Atherton, as well as for its proximity to Indian companies, start-ups and multinational organisations. “One of the reasons we didn’t go for Gift City is because it’s more focused on financial services and financial services support,” he added. “So, our view is that the course portfolio would have been narrower.”

Southampton plans to launch its campus this year with six courses and introduce more each year. By the tenth year of operation, about two-thirds of the courses on offer at Southampton’s home campus will be available in India. Enrolment is expected to grow in line with this, with roughly 150 students admitted when the campus opens, growing to about 5,000 over the first decade.

While Southampton will also continue to explore options for new campuses in other countries — it currently has a shortlist of five locations, with a plan to open two additional campuses by 2030 — for now, the focus will remain on launching smoothly in India.

It’s not just about getting the approval, says Atherton. “Now the real work starts.”