Mumbai University plans first offshore campus in US

Vice Chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh announced a “world tour” this year to explore possibilities and obtain permissions to establish campuses abroad.

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Mumbai University. Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty

THE UNIVERSITY of Mumbai will soon initiate talks with the United States to establish its first campus on foreign shores and run global academic programmes. Vice Chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh announced a “world tour” this year to explore possibilities and obtain permissions to establish campuses abroad. The would tour will begin from the United States, said Deshmukh during his address to graduating students at the Convocation Ceremony held Monday. He said that the university will seek partnerships with existing universities to realise the aim of setting up a Mumbai University in the US.

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“We can partner with eminent Indians working abroad for degree courses. We may also hold joint degree programmes with existing universities or take over an existing university,” Deshmukh told The Indian Express. He said that Indian students who wish to take a course in the offshore campus will be charged at par with the Mumbai campus but foreign students will be charged at par with international rates for the course. While the US is the first stop in the world tour, Deshmukh was also keen on partnering with European, Australian and Israeli universities.

Speaking at the 160th Convocation Ceremony, Deshmukh said Mumbai University was the first in the country to have digitally connected to more than 750 affiliated colleges. “With a written consent, all 755-odd affiliated colleges can enjoy free WiFi,” he said.

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RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, who was the chief guest of the event, talked to graduating students about the digital revolution. “New technologies have rendered many businesses obsolete overnight. Businesses that didn’t exist less than

10 years ago are now multinational giants dominating global economies,” said Ambani, who is an alumnus of the university. He urged the outgoing batch to work towards equitable development.