Birkbeck, University of London has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to establish its first overseas campus, with the UK university now officially approved to operate in Bengaluru, India.
The university has received a Letter of Approval (LoA) from India’s University Grants Commission (UGC), giving it formal clearance to establish and operate the campus under India’s 2023 regulations for Foreign Higher Educational Institutions.
The approval follows the Letter of Intent issued to Birkbeck earlier this year and means the university can now move ahead with admissions and prepare to welcome its first cohort of students in India.
For Birkbeck, founded in 1823, the move represents a significant step beyond its traditional London base. For the international education sector more broadly, it is another example of a major university choosing to take its academic offer to students rather than relying entirely on international students travelling to the institution’s home country.
The Bengaluru campus will be located at Sattva Tech Park, a major technology and business hub, and will initially offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business management and business analytics.
Importantly, the degrees will be awarded directly by the University of London and delivered under Birkbeck’s academic oversight.
The university says tuition costs are expected to be up to 60 per cent lower than studying in the UK, putting the model squarely into the growing global debate about affordability and access to international education.
That price differential could prove particularly important at a time when international students and their families are becoming increasingly sensitive to the total cost of an overseas education.
Rather than asking students to absorb the cost of international travel, accommodation and living expenses in London, Birkbeck’s Bengaluru model brings the international university experience closer to the student.
India’s TNE ambitions
The approval also highlights the increasingly important role India is playing in the global transnational education market.
India’s National Education Policy 2020 has placed a strong emphasis on internationalisation and expanding access to high-quality higher education, including through greater participation by foreign universities, including many Australian universities.
The UGC’s regulatory framework for foreign higher education institutions is intended to provide a pathway for overseas universities to establish a physical presence in the country while maintaining appropriate standards around academic quality, governance and student protection.
The Letter of Approval is therefore more than an administrative tick. It confirms that Birkbeck’s proposed campus has satisfied the regulatory requirements before commencing operations.
India has a huge and growing population of prospective higher education students, while its expanding technology and business sectors provide an obvious market for programmes in areas such as business analytics and management.
For UK and Australian universities alike, the model offers another way of maintaining and expanding their international presence while reducing the reliance on students physically travelling abroad.
ECA partnership
Birkbeck is establishing the Bengaluru campus in partnership with Education Centre of Australia (ECA), which has provided the financial backing and operational infrastructure needed to establish the campus.
ECA has more than two decades of experience in transnational education and currently works with a range of universities across Australia and the UK.
ECA Group CEO Rupesh Singh said the approval validated the work undertaken by both organisations to build a campus meeting both UGC requirements and Birkbeck’s academic standards.
“We are proud to have supported the university through the regulatory and operational journey,” Singh said.
The partnership now moves into its next phase, with the focus shifting from securing regulatory approval to delivering the student experience.
Gaining regulatory approval is one thing. Building a successful overseas campus, attracting students, establishing a strong academic culture and delivering the same quality of experience expected from the home institution is another.
Birkbeck Vice-Chancellor Professor Sally Wheeler said the university was now ready to “extend Birkbeck’s 200 plus-year commitment to accessible, high-quality education to students here in India.”
