After Australia, two universities from the United Kingdom, Queen’s University Belfast and Coventry University, have filed applications to set up their respective international campuses in GIFT City, Gujarat.

“Earlier this week we gave permission for Queen’s University Belfast to establish its campus in GIFT City. This will be the third foreign university to set up here. They have big plans and have proposed to start with 800 students,” said K Rajaraman, chairman of the International Financial Services Authority (IFSCA). sector of activity.

Headquartered in Northern Ireland, Queen’s is almost 200 years old and ranked among the top 200 in the world for impact and sustainability. As a member of the Russell Group, Queen’s is one of 24 leading UK research-intensive universities. “Queen’s University Belfast will start by offering a postgraduate programme. It is planning to set up its research arm and may also offer undergraduate programmes,” said another official. Of the approximately 24,000 students currently studying at Queen’s, more than 1,000 are from India.

Coventry Campus

The second British university to propose establishing a campus at GIFT City is Coventry University, established in 1843 and with more than 13,000 international students from 160 countries. This university already has branch campuses in Egypt, Poland, Morocco and Kazakhstan. The university launched its ‘India Hub’ in Delhi in March 2024, which collaborates with the Indian government, academia and industry to address global challenges such as climate change, economic development and health issues.

The IFSCA unveiled its international campus branch regulations in October 2022, allowing Indian campuses of foreign universities to repatriate funds in a relaxed regulatory environment. As per IFSCA regulations, all transactions undertaken by universities will be in freely convertible foreign currencies and infrastructure requirements applicable to other universities based in India will not be applied within GIFT City. These foreign entities have been allowed to offer courses including research programs in financial management, fintech, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Two Australian universities have already opened their international campuses in GIFT City. In January 2024, Deakin University became the first foreign university in India to open an international campus in GIFT City. In July, it welcomed the first group of 45 students for a postgraduate course in business analytics and cybercrime. The students come from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. In November 2024, the University of Wollongong (UOW) became the second Australian university to open a similar campus. UOW offers Masters courses in Financial Technology.

Standards of foreign universities

Foreign universities benefit from GIFT IFSC registration for a period of five years. This can be renewed for an additional period of five years. Universities which have secured a position among the top 500 in the overall world ranking or subject ranking in the latest QS World Universities Ranking can only apply for establishing a campus in GIFT City. Institutions that are “reputed” in their home jurisdiction are also eligible to establish a campus in GIFT City.