Five foreign universities will set up campuses on a 250-acre plot in Navi Mumbai to enable Mumbai Metropolitan Region to emerge as a global education hub, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday.
During the day, Letters of Intent (LoI) from the University Grants Commission (UGC) were handed over to Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) of Italy, University of Western Australia, University of York, University of Aberdeen and Illinois Tech of USA to set up campuses.
Addressing a press conference with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the CM said talk about collaborating with foreign universities has been on since 2004, but it was the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that was making this happen.
"Navi Mumbai is being transformed into EduCity. Ten universities will set up campuses on an over 250-acre area to provide world-class education. Accessibility and affordability are key problems our students who wish to avail of global education face. Foreign universities' campuses will help our children get a global education at 25 per cent of the expenditure," he said.
"A growing economy like India needs a global workforce. The decision to set up foreign campuses here will help achieve the goal and also save foreign exchange. Mumbai and its metropolitan region will emerge as a global education hub," the CM added.
Speaking at the press conference, Pradhan said nine foreign universities are setting up campuses in the country, while six more are in the pipeline.
"We are focusing on quality foreign education," the Union Minister added.
Fadnavis also informed that Gondwana University in Gadchiroli has tied up with the University of Western Australia, which is considered the best in mining.
Our mining destination is Gadchiroli, he said.
Hailing NEP 2020, Fadnavis said it was helping universities of the country tie up with global institutions and also open campuses abroad.
IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and Symbiosis have set up campuses in Africa, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, he added.