UK unveils biggest university campus footprint during Starmer's India visit

London | The UK is set to become the country with the biggest higher education footprint in India with the confirmation of nine new British university campuses during Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to Mumbai on Thursday.

Starmer announced the University of Lancaster and University of Surrey as the latest to get approval to open new campuses after the University of Southampton campus opened in Gurugram recently.

The University of York, University of Aberdeen, University of Bristol, University of Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast and the University of Coventry are next in line to set up Indian campuses starting next year.

"Thanks to the new campuses announced today, the UK is set to become the country with the biggest higher education footprint in India – in a major boost for the UK's reputation abroad," a Downing Street statement said.

According to the UK government, the higher education sector is set to bring in a 50 million pounds boost to the British economy as part of this India expansion.

“I'm delighted that more Indian students will be able to benefit from a world-class British education in the near future – strengthening the ties between our two countries while pumping millions back into our economy and supporting jobs at home,” said Starmer, in a statement.

“Opening new campuses in India will give more young people the chance to benefit from a UK education, while delivering real returns for our universities at home,” said UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

The largest trade mission accompanying Starmer this week includes university vice-chancellors, who celebrated the India-UK education partnership at a meeting in Mumbai.

Professor Andrew Atherton, Vice-President of the University of Southampton, said the first students are already “benefiting from this flagship initiative” of international campuses.

“As part of this ambitious new Universities in India Alliance, our nine universities can work together to realise the enormous potential of UK higher education combined with India's remarkable talent and ambition,” said Professor Stephen Jarvis, President of the University of Surrey, which will be set up its International Branch Campus at GIFT City, Gujarat.

University of Lancaster, which will be opening its branch campus in Bengaluru, said its aim is to partner with Indian businesses, industry and local universities to “collaboratively spark growth”.

“With the University of York Mumbai campus, we are building on this momentum, placing research and collaboration at the heart of our engagement and supporting India's ambitions in sustainability, future technologies, and the creative industries,” said Professor Charlie Jeffery.

Among some of the other key education sector outcomes highlighted as part of Starmer's visit include Imperial College London's tie-up with Science Gallery Bengaluru on scientific collaborations and medtech collaborations between University College London (UCL) and IIT Delhi and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

According to UK data, there are 40 million students at university in India, but 70 million places are needed by 2035 – a growth market being targeted by the higher education sector to boost an estimated 32 billion pounds of export revenue brought into Britain through international education.