Karnataka opens doors to Aussie varsities to open campuses

Bengaluru: Higher Education, Skill Development, and IT/BT Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday sought the co-operation of Australia to provide master trainers to train skill development trainers.

He made the request as an Australian delegation, headed by Consul General Sarah Kirlew, met him here. During the discussion, Narayan also said that renowned universities of Australia would be welcomed to open their campuses in the State and all required facilities would be provided. Australian universities can also enter into MoUs with any university of the State including the Visvesvaraya Technological University, he said, adding that priority would be given if the Australian institutions come forward to set up their Centre of Excellence in collaboration with universities of the State.

During the discussion, the members of the Australian delegation told the minister that Australia had MoUs with many institutions in Karnataka including the IISc, the Raman Research Centre, the ISRO, Indian Astrophysics Institution, etc.

The delegation also expressed keenness to know about the start-up ecosystem of the State, and the minister assured that the required information would be shared with them.

He also told them that co-operation with Australia in the cybersecurity sector would be continued under the "Beyond Bengaluru" programme.

Australian Trade and Investment Commission's Sam Freeman, Vice Consul Andrew Calister, IT/BT Department Director Dr C.N. Meena Nagaraj, and State Higher Education Council ED Gopala Joshi were also present on the occasion.