An important step towards the university’s global outreach and promotion of the inter cultural education exchange, the University of Melbourne has launched its first overseas centre in Delhi, India. After today’s inauguration, Melbourne Global Centre forms a new stage in the global development strategy and internationalisation of the university and the concept of collaborative learning.
The launch ceremony was conducted with the participation of a governmental delegation of Australia and India showing that strengthening and developing of the international cooperation in the sphere of education is one of the priorities of today. Aimed at becoming the centre of activity the building is to provide the opportunities for effective exchange between the various sectors of society, particularly focusing on the educational, research and ‘third’ sectors.
Other prominent individual who highlighted the importance of this development included the Professor Michael Wesley of the University of Melbourne’s Deputy Vice Chancellor. He said, ‘This is a major step forward in our long standing dedication of helping to promote educational exchange between India and our university. ’
Based on established institutional relations for 4 to 16 years, it is our mission to foster capacities within India and develop and reinforce research capacities in line with our mission to help society through education and advance research.
For this reason, Melbourne Global Centre must not be seen in any way as a teaching institution or an off-shore campus. It seeks to demonstrate to a larger audience the diverse programs of study being offered in the university and other key areas that the university is involved in such as research and community collaboration.
The mentioned strategic approach is aimed at enhancing the value of the present and future activities in India as well as increasing positive impact of the university’s partnership model and cooperation with Indian governments and institutions.
Both the extent and quality of educational and cultural exchanges are among the major aims of the centre. This creation will also be intended to host the performances of cultural programs, art shows and lectures so as to give the respective participants valuable exposures of Indian and Australian cultures.
Also, the centre will act as an essential link between research and Indian corporations and other industries and other academic establishments, thus may given rise to new technologies and innovations.
The setting up of the Melbourne Global Centre in Delhi that has been put in place when international collaborations are being realized to be crucial commodities for solving complex global problems. In this way the University of Melbourne became an active participant of the Indian academic and research agenda while at the same time providing Australians students and academics with more international engagement possibility.
This initiative falls in line with the general trends of universities internationalizing themselves, for purposes of enrollments as well as for the pursuit of education that could improve the global system. In this regard, the present study found that the University of Melbourne’s no ‘turf’ approach promoting that all institutions are on the same team and must work together with no competition is a positive move in the inter-connectivity of the global academic community.
In the same regard, the doors that Melbourne Global Centre opens for better cooperation and collaboration equal a promising agenda for Indian students and researches at one of the most popular Australian Universities. It will help disseminate information on study opportunities within this country, foster collaborations in research and produce a physical address to which alumni may be easily reached.
The opening of the centre is also likely to have positive ripple on the general relation between Australia and India. Scholarly partnerships have been the foundation of diplomatic relations between both nations for a long time and this new channel is hoped to enhance the partnership. It may also provide the ground necessary for advancing cultural and economic interchanges since educational relations usually spur other forms of relations across various fields.
Melbourne Global Centre is established as the University of Melbourne embarked on its operation showing that this University supports international education and research. Thus, by transcending the geographical and cultural divides, it holds the potential of grooming new directions of knowledge flow, innovation and leadership building for both India and Australia.
This centre launched not only the University of Melbourne’s expansion in Asia but also signal an attempt at a more comparative and comparative model for internationalization.
With time, more changes are anticipated at the Melbourne Global Centre Delhi that shows how universities can effectively connect across the borders for the creation of a knowledge society.
