– Ronita Torcato 

In keeping with the Maharashtra government’s pathbreaking initiative, “Mumbai Rising – Creating an International Education City “, Mumbai Metropolitan Region is all set to emerge as global education hub following the issuance of Letters of Intent (LOIs) to five renowned foreign universities to set up campuses in the state capital Mumbai and, Navi Mumbai.

These are the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), University of York (United Kingdom), University of Western Australia, the Illinois Institute of Technology (USA) and Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), Italy.

This will be the first such global Education City in India. 

Being set up by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO) near Navi Mumbai International Airport, the International Edu City will provide students across India, opportunities for world-class education.

The quintet of foreign university campuses in India have been given full autonomy and recognition to run undergraduate, postgraduate, Ph.D., diploma and research programmes. These include twinning, dual degree and joint degree programmes, research collaboration and student-faculty exchange, based on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Courses will be tailored to local industrial needs and research , startups and industry collaboration will be promoted. Opportunities like exchange programmes, semester transfers, global internships will be available to students as well as a 25 percent reduction in admission fees.

The University of Aberdeen (estb. 1495), a public research university in Scotland, is a UK Top 20 and World Top 200 University. The University of Western Australia specialises in STEM, business and research courses. The University of York (UK – Russell Group) runs specialised courses for AI, Cyber Security, Business and Creative Industries. The Illinois Institute of Technology (USA) is a leader in engineering, computer science, and business while Italy’s Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) offers skills-based, creative education in the fields of fashion, product design and visual communication.

Also read: Union edu minister & Maharashtra CM inaugurate new educational complex in Mumbai