The Group of Eight (Go8) will highlight the value of Australia-India research collaboration and stress its commitment to educating high quality career ready graduates during this week's delegation to India, led by Education Minister Jason Clare.
Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said Australia's research-intensive universities had developed deep research and education partnerships with India over many decades and the willingness of both nations to build a stronger alliance presented exciting opportunities for Australia's higher education sector.
"Go8 universities are proud of their longstanding and growing partnership with India. It is based on quality and collaboration. Our world class universities have a strong commitment to elevate our research collaboration, work together with our partners to build future workforces and ensure both our nations reap the benefits of innovation and research.
"The best research is global - and India is a key strategic and economic partner for Australia. Only by collaborating with the best and brightest in likeminded countries can we hope to find solutions to global challenges. Our shared research efforts, spanning across areas as diverse as agriculture, astronomy and marine sciences, have already led to impactful outcomes, improving the quality of life for individuals in both Australia and India.
The Go8 will take part in the Australia India Education and Skills Council meeting, which will focus on reinforcing the role of education, skills and research as pillars of the broader Australia-India bilateral relationship. Go8 representatives will also meet with the Indian Education Minister Pradhan as well as key business and industry partners.
"Our universities are committed to educating the high-quality skilled graduates India needs and deepening our research partnerships, particularly in areas such as AI and cyber security where India excels," Ms Thomson said.
This visit follows the release of new data which shows the number of Indian born people living in Australia has more than doubled in the last decade.
"India offers a huge demographic dividend, however the Go8 will never trade quality for quantity when it comes to our education and research partnerships. It is this commitment to quality that has seen our eight universities consistently ranked in the world's top 100 with six in the world's top 50."
Go8 universities educate over 150,000 international students both on and offshore, carry out 70 per cent of Australian university-based research and invests $7.7bn annually into research. The Go8 attracts research funding from industry and other non-government sources that is twice that of the rest of the sector combined.
