Western Sydney University hosts Australia-India Education Council meeting

Western Sydney University was honoured to welcome Indian Minister for Education, the Hon. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and Australian Minister for Education, the Hon. Jason Clare MP, to its Parramatta City campus for the Australia-India Education Council meeting.

The University proudly hosted the meeting at the campus on Monday 22 August.

Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Barney Glover AO, said the University was delighted to host Ministers Pradhan and Clare for this important occasion, which highlighted the importance of education to the relationship between Australia and India.

As part of the visit the Ministers had the opportunity to hear from researchers and students who are working on research initiatives in collaboration with India.

Professor Glover spoke warmly of Western Sydney University’s own large and vibrant Indian student and staff population who enrich the University community and enliven the student experience. He also highlighted the University’s long-standing education partnerships, transdisciplinary research and enterprise collaborations with Indian universities, agencies and the Indian Government.

These include delivering innovative water security solutions for rural communities in the face of climate change; developing sustainable agriculture practices such as protected cropping to help secure the world’s food production; improving human health and wellbeing through evidence-based Ayurvedic medicine; and advancing our knowledge of space science with cutting-edge neuromorphic engineering.

“On behalf of the University community, it was an honour to welcome Minister Pradhan, together with Minister Clare, to Western Sydney University and to showcase this institution’s long and proud history of collaboration with India – one of our primary international partners,” said Professor Glover.

“Our educational collaborations include our longstanding support for global mobility initiatives like the New Colombo Plan, as well as a wide range of postgraduate and entrepreneurial training programs to support startup development that are all about fostering the next generation of academic leaders, knowledge workers and entrepreneurs in both India and Australia.

“Our world-leading research partnerships with India are leveraging our collective research strengths to tackle the grand, often complex challenges, facing both countries. Together we are delivering real and lasting impact for many millions of people in Australia and India, while also promoting industry development, commercialisation opportunities and capacity building across the region.”

The visit was also an opportunity for the Ministers to hear more about Western Sydney University’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the University recently named number one in the world for its social, ecological and economic impact in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings.

As well as being named 1st overall worldwide, the University was recognised in a wide range of SDG categories, including 1st worldwide for SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; 2nd worldwide for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production; and 3rd worldwide for SDG 5: Gender Equality.

To read more about Western Sydney University’s collaborations with India, visit https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/Western_Sydney_University_hosts_Australia-India_Education_Council_meeting.

SOURCE: Western Sydney University