New Delhi: The University of Melbourne has partnered with three Indian varsities — University of Madras, Savitribai Phule Pune University and Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management in Hyderabad — to offer a dual degree in Bachelor of Science, Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell said on Thursday.
Indian students who enroll in the new dual degree course will be able to complete their degree at home and abroad, spending the first two years studying in India, followed by two years on campus in Melbourne.
Once they successfully complete their studies, Indian students will be awarded a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, and they have the option for their local institution to award the degree. In addition, Indian students can study up to six masters subjects in their final year so they can fast-track a masters degree from a suite of disciplines including science, engineering, public health and data science.
The Melbourne university VC, who is part of the Prime Minister of Australia’s Trade Delegation to India, made the announcement in Mumbai.
“The new dual degree is the logical next step of the Bachelor of Science (Blended), which was co-designed and quality assured by the University of Melbourne, and is now offered by seven institutions across the country. The University of Melbourne is delighted to continue expanding our programmes to give more Indian students direct pathways to complete their studies,” Maskell said.
“With demand for our existing programmes continuing to grow, we are pleased to be working together with prestigious local universities to be part of the internationalisation of education in India and at home in Australia,” he added.
The University of Madras, SPPU and GITAM, are the first partners in the Bachelor of Science Dual Degree, with discussions underway with more institutions looking to offer the dual degree from 2024.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) had last year announced that Indian and foreign higher educational institutions can offer joint or dual degrees and twinning programmes and notified the regulations for these programmes.
According to the approved regulations, a “twinning programme” shall be a collaborative arrangement whereby students enrolled with an Indian higher educational institution may undertake their programmes of study partly in India, complying with the relevant UGC regulations, and partly in a foreign higher educational institution.
