Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met his Australian counterpart Jason Clare on Wednesday and highlighted on the advancing knowledge of India and Australia. While attending an International Education Conference in Melbourne, he spoke about the establishment of Australian university campuses in India and the potential of the two countries.
"Together, the countries can advance knowledge, leverage technology for global challenges, and create endless opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship of the students," he said.
Australia has become the first ever country to setup a foreign campus in India. The country's Deakin University has recently inaugurated its branch campus in GIFT City, Gujarat. The students will now have the opportunity to pursue Master of Business Analytics and Master of Cybersecurity (Professional) in the university.
The minister held a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart wherein Clare emphasised the importance of a good education system that can change more than just lives. He added that by 2035, one in four people around the world who get a university degree will get it in India. Pradhan visited South Melbourne Primary School and Monash University.
"Australian universities like Deakin had been in India for 30 years and now Wollongong has one campus," he noted.
An official statement from the meeting highlighted on building the strong institutional linkages between Indian and Australian higher education institutions. The ministers agreed to further strengthen the partnership in critical and emerging technologies and explore the possibility of establishing branch campuses of Australian universities in India.
Taking to his post on X, Pradhan posted, "The establishment of Australian university campuses in India is just the beginning--there's much more that can be accomplished. Together, we can advance knowledge, leverage tech for global challenges, and create endless opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship for our students."
"As a 'Vishwa-Bandhu', India is committed to being a trusted partner in human-centric development. Let's build and nurture global citizens and shape a brighter future for the next generation," the post read.
Australian Minister for Education, Jason Clare, also gifted Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with a jersey with the name 'Pradhan' and jersey number 20.
Jason Clare posted a video on his X showing Dharmendra Pradhan with the jersey. He captioned the video 'Mateship and Maitri!'
Earlier on October 21, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, met with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong, and discussed on enhancing bilateral cooperation in school education, vocational training, and research.
(With inputs from agencies)