Skilling key area of tie-up with Aussies

India and Australia have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen ties in the fields of education, training and research.

“Our highest priority is to settle the issues around recognition of qualifications and flexibility around opening Australian institutes in India and expand collaborations between universities in India and Australia,” says Australian minister for education and training, Christopher Pyne, who is currently on a visit to India and is accompanied by an education mission comprising senior representatives from Australian universities, skills and school sectors.

Pyne has said that areas like agriculture, mining, energy, skills and health will be prioritised for collaboration. However, skilling is one of the key areas of focus. “Australia has a very high quality vocational training and education sector and there is a huge potential to increase engagement with India in that field. We hope to contribute towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to have 500 million Indians skilled by 2022. We feel we can contribute towards helping him reach the target,” says Pyne. He also adds that his country is in talks with the Indian government for setting up Australian institutes in India in the field of vocational education and training.

Australia has 48,500 Indian students enrolled in various institutes, including vocational education. Indians comprise the second largest number of international students in Australia after China. As of now, 33 Australian institutes are working with 250 Indian institutes on 430 collaborations. “We also want to expand research collaborations and that becomes the primary aspect of our relationship from our international student aspect,” Pyne adds.

Australia recently announced the appointment of cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist as the education ambassador to India.