UWA Hosts Roundtable on Transforming Higher Education, Building Global Pathways from India

by Pooja Bhardwaj August 1, 2026

By Pooja Bhardwaj August 1, 2026 0 comments 3 minutes read

Nashid Chowdhury, Director, Global Growth and Advocacy, UWA; Assoc. Prof. Paul Maginn, Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Prof. Guy Littlefair, Deputy Vice Chancellor, UWA; Senator Varun Ghosh; Nagesh Singh, High Commissioner of India to Australia; Kajari Biswas, Consul General of India in Perth; and Ian Martinus, Investment and Trade Commissioner for India-Gulf, Invest and Trade Western Australia, among other attendees at the 'Transforming Higher Education: Building Global Pathways from India' roundtable discussion, Winthrop Hall, The University of Western Australia, July 31, 2026. PHOTO: Pooja Bhardwaj, SAH

The University of Western Australia’s Global Engagement Office and UWA Public Policy Institute hosted a roundtable discussion on Indian higher education policy at Winthrop Hall on July 31, 2026, bringing together university leaders, government representatives and stakeholders to explore collaboration between Western Australia and India.

The keynote presentation, “Transforming Higher Education: Building Global Pathways from India,” was delivered by Pooja Missal, Advisor for Education and New Initiatives in the Chief Minister’s Office, Maharashtra, who joined the session online from India. Nagesh Singh, High Commissioner of India to Australia, Kajari Biswas, Consul General of India in Perth, and Senator Varun Ghosh also spoke, followed by a moderated discussion with attendees. The discussion was moderated by Nashid Chowdhury, Director of Global Growth and Advocacy at UWA, and Assoc. Prof. Paul Maginn, Director of the UWA Public Policy Institute. The roundtable was attended by university leaders, government representatives, industry figures and stakeholders from both Western Australia and India.

Welcoming attendees on behalf of the university, Prof. Guy Littlefair, Deputy Vice Chancellor of UWA, reflected on his three decades of engagement with India and highlighted the university’s 115-year history, describing education as one of the most powerful forces for change available to any nation. He said the university’s move into India was not a decision taken lightly, and that UWA intended to build a lasting presence in the country to support students, research, industry and communities in the same way it has in Western Australia.

The roundtable comes as UWA prepares to open branch campuses in Mumbai and Chennai, following approval from India’s University Grants Commission. The session focused on emerging policy priorities, international engagement, research collaboration and institutional partnerships between Maharashtra and Western Australia, as UWA continues to build on its longstanding academic relationship with India.

In her keynote, Missal outlined Maharashtra’s ambitions to become a $1 trillion economy, and the role higher education is expected to play in achieving that target. She described a shift in the state’s approach, moving away from sending students abroad and toward attracting foreign universities to establish campuses within India itself, pointing to India’s National Education Policy 2020 as the framework that has opened the door for global universities to set up in the country. Missal said the state’s focus was on developing employable graduates and closing the gap between qualifications and industry needs, pointing to Maharashtra’s district development plans, which aim to create local employment opportunities and reduce the movement of talent toward major cities.

Biswas, addressing the roundtable on behalf of the Consulate General of India in Perth, spoke to the scale of the India-Australia education relationship, noting that international education remains one of Australia’s largest service exports and that India is the country’s second largest source of international students. She referenced UWA’s recognition from India’s University Grants Commission to establish its Mumbai and Chennai campuses and pointed to the rollout of the Western Australian Certificate of Education in Indian schools as a further sign of deepening ties between the two education systems.

Singh spoke about India’s demographic profile and the scale of demand for higher education opportunities in the country, describing partnerships with international universities as an increasingly strategic priority for India’s development. He also spoke to the importance of curriculum modernization and stronger links between academia and industry as India’s economy continues to grow.

Among those attending was Ian Martinus, Investment and Trade Commissioner for India-Gulf at Invest and Trade Western Australia.

UWA’s Mumbai campus is scheduled to welcome its first cohort of students in September this year.