Australia varsity, Gujarat NRE Coke in pact for campus

Australia’s University of Wollongong is planning to set up a campus in India. The university has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mr Arun Jagatramka, Chairman of the Gujarat-based entity, Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd. According to the pact, Mr Jagatramka “will assist the university and liaise between it and the Government authorities in the State”, said Mr. Craig Peden, Director, Corporate Relations, University of Wollongong.

In talks
He said, the university is exploring the possibility of setting up our campus in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. “A concrete decision on this is yet to be made. Due diligence is underway,” he said. However, according to sources, the university is advanced in stages of discussion with the Government authorities there and very close to finalising the location in Ahmedabad. If this works out, this will be the university’s second campus outside Australia. It currently has one in Dubai, said Mr. Peden.

Lures Indian offices
At a press conference, organised by the Australian Trade Commission in Chennai today, he said the university’s Innovation Campus invites Indian businesses to set up their Australian offices and facilities on the campus. The campus would offer a steady source of well-trained graduates and research and development partnerships, all within a modern campus environment in south of Sydney, he said. The university’s research institutes work in fields such as advanced IT, nanotechnology, intelligent materials and super-conductivity.

Indian investment
Addressing the press earlier, Mr. Michael Carter, Trade Commissioner and Consul-Commercial for Australia to Southern India, said Indian investment in Australia has now reached an estimated Rs. 50,000 crore (Rs. 500 billion). The investments are concentrated around the mining and resources, information technology, infrastructure and the financial services sector.

A spokes person of Gujarat NRE, which owns and operates two coking coal mines with estimated reserves of over 650 million tonnes of coking coal, said the company is currently producing 1.5 million tonnes of coking coal a year and it is set to increase it to six million tonnes a year by 2015.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, February 8, 2012

Australian varsity planning campus in Gujarat

Australia’s University of Wollongong (UOW) is planning to establish a 72-acre campus in Ahmedabad, an official of the varsity said Monday. “Indian students have a major presence in our country. So we thought why not establish a campus here which will allow them to get the Australian flavour of education without having to leave their shores,” Mr. Craig Peden, Director Corporate Relations, UOW, said in Kolkata. The facility will be the UOW’s second international campus alongside Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Financing

Gujarat NRE Coking Coal chairman Arun Jagatramka will assist the university with finance and liaise between it and Indian authorities. Gujarat NRE Coking Coal Limited (GNCCL) is a subsidiary of Gujarat NRE Coke Limited, the largest independent manufacturer of low ash metallurgical coke (Met Coke) in India.

Mr. Peden, however, refused to comment on the amount of investment involved in the project, saying it was only in the planning stage and anything concrete can be said only after the end of 2012. A memorandum of understanding was earlier signed by UOW Vice-Chancellor Gerard Sutton and Jagatramka in Mumbai.

Innovation Campus
Mr. Peden also said the university was mulling to establish a branch of Innovation Campus (IC), a technology and research precinct developed by it. “With a view to forge partnership with India in the field of R&D in areas like advance manufacturing, energy storage etc, we are looking for a suitable place here to establish a branch of the IC,” said Mr. Peden.

IC’s brand ambassador and Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist visited the Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore last year scouting for suitable place for the Indian branch.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, February 8, 2012