As footage of shiny new classrooms plays, the voiceover boasts of “world-class teachers”.
“An inclusive and vibrant community,” it continues, panning over students in a courtyard dancing. “And a global top-20 university education.”
The promotional video for the University of NSW’s new campus in Bengaluru, where orientation began on Friday, is slick. For UNSW and universities more broadly, transnational education is a big deal. Australia’s universities are heavily reliant on international student revenue – last year, they spent $5 billion at the state’s public universities, with the University of NSW and the University of Sydney taking $1.7 billion each in revenue. But the introduction of “soft caps” on international student numbers (the Albanese government failed to pass legislation and instead controls the flow of students via the visa system) means that education providers must look for new, unfettered, revenue streams.
Enter offshore campuses – an Australian education, delivered outside of Australia.
Australia has a chequered history with offshore campuses. UNSW opened a Singapore campus, lost too much money, and closed it. The same story for Charles Sturt University’s incursions into Canada; Monash’s campus in South Africa was sold in 2019. The University of Wollongong’s controversial plans to open in Saudi Arabia by 2025 are as yet unrealised (although it has been established in Dubai since 1993, as well as having campuses in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong).
By contrast, RMIT has two campuses in Vietnam dating back 20 years, a number of universities have hung their shingles in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and multiple Australian outfits partner with local institutions.
“When your ability to recruit from offshore is constrained, then it’s very tempting to take your courses offshore,” International Education Association CEO Phil Honeywood said. “Our universities are desperately worried about not having sufficient revenue.”
The Albanese government, too, is enthusiastic about offshore education, which lets the government avoid the political risk of more foreign students in Australia as migration debate swells, while continuing to enjoy the soft diplomacy benefits.
“We’re taking Australian culture and values offshore, we enhance our engagement with future leaders of regional neighbours,” said Honeywood.
Students benefit too – a degree costs between a quarter and half the cost of doing that same qualification in Australia.
The strategic shift towards branch campuses is not without difficulty. Foreign governments want a commitment of at least a decade and a guarantee that qualifications won’t be diluted (through dropping courses as they become expensive). Courses must be contextualised locally – for instance, courses run in Indonesia must cover Islamic values.
Then there is the logistical challenge of meeting the sometimes-contradictory requirements of both foreign and Australian regulators.
Success is not guaranteed.
Of India’s 1.4 billion people, there are only 45 million families earning more than $100,000 a year.
“That is a cohort that UK, Australian, American universities are all fighting for, it’s only a wealthy minority who could afford even a cheaper Australian degree,” Honeywood said.
Foreign universities are hoping that amid massive unemployment and poorly ranked local universities, Indian students will gamble on an international qualification landing them a job.
“That’s really on a wing and a prayer,” said Honeywood. “A number of Australian universities have taken a big risk in hoping Indian families will recognise the quality differential.”
Garima Logan, 18, will move 1200 kilometres from her home in Haryana in India’s north-west to become one of the inaugural UNSW Bengaluru students doing a bachelor of business when classes start next month.
“After three years, I will have the management, business, and data analysis skills I need,” said the teenager, who hopes to run her own business. “I will have good networking opportunities too.”
After relaxing its policies, India is proving popular with Australia’s institutions. South Australia’s Flinders University and Melbourne’s Victoria University are among the nine with a presence on the subcontinent.
The prime minister is on board.
“Australian university campuses in India are a cornerstone of our education partnership, driving innovation, skills development and economic growth in both countries,” he said when he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Melbourne earlier this month.
Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said from Bengaluru on Friday: “Education has long been one of the defining pillars of Australia’s bilateral relationship with India. This new campus in Bengaluru will create exciting opportunities for students, researchers and industry.”
Studying in Australia is also becoming a more difficult proposition for students from India and elsewhere in South Asia. Increased scrutiny this year has led to a higher visa rejection for Indian students applying from offshore, while the latest Home Affairs data from May shows 126,841 Indian students in Australia – a 10 per cent decrease from 2025.
“International education is and must increasingly be more than students coming to Australia,” Hill said.
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