The University of Southampton—a QS Top 100 global institution and founding member of the UK’s Russell Group—becomes the first foreign university to operationalize a campus in India under the University Grants Commission’s (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations. The India campus of the University in Gurugram was inaugurated at the hands Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan along with Chief Minister of Haryana Nayab Singh Saini on July 16. The development marking a significant milestone in India’s higher education landscape comes at a time when the Government is commemorating five years of the National Education Policy 2020 this month.
Industries and Commerce Minister of Haryana Rao Narbir Singh; Lord Patel OBE, Chancellor and Member of the UK House of Lords; Ms. Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India; Mr. Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Southampton; Ms. Eloise Phillips, Academic Provost, University of Southampton, New Delhi; and senior officials of the Ministry of Education were also present on the occasion.
The new Gurugram campus will offer globally recognised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes aligned with UK academic standards. Students may spend up to one year at the University’s campuses in the UK or Malaysia. Programmes commencing in 2025 include undergraduate (BSc) courses in Computer Science, Economics, Accounting & Finance, Business Management, and postgraduate (MSc) courses in Finance and International Management.
The first cohort at the India campus includes academically accomplished students from across India and from international locations such as the United Arab Emirates and Nepal.
The University is set to hire over 75 full-time faculty members who meet UK academic standards and will be expected to undertake the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. These faculty members bring experience from global academic centres in the UK, UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
Speaking at the inaugural event, Pradhan commended and congratulated the University of Southampton for setting up this state-of-the-art campus within a year of receiving the LoI. He expressed confidence that the campus, with its basket of forward-looking courses and Southampton’s legacy of academic excellence, will emerge as a distinguished institution shaping leaders of tomorrow.
The Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has stated that education is a living bridge between India and the UK, and today’s gala opening of the University of Southampton Delhi campus is an occasion to strengthen that bridge further. Southampton University’s campus in Gurugram will create new synergies, foster a new culture of curiosity and excellence, and present an added choice to students to access world-class education at a more affordable cost and nearer to home and family. He urged the University of Southampton leadership to start STEM courses at the Gurugram campus and added that this campus should aim to become a hub of solutions for global challenges.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nayab Singh Saini, Chief Minister of Haryana, welcomed the University of Southampton to the state and reaffirmed the Government of Haryana’s commitment to positioning the region as a global education and innovation hub.
Lord Patel OBE, Chancellor of the University of Southampton and Member of the UK House of Lords, and Ms. Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, also addressed the gathering and expressed their strong support for expanding UK–India educational partnerships.
