Western Sydney University was honoured to welcome Indian Minister for 
Education, the Hon. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and Australian Minister for 
Education, the Hon. Jason Clare MP, to its Parramatta City campus for the 
Australia-India Education Council meeting.

The University proudly hosted the meeting at the campus on Monday 22 August.

Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Barney 
Glover AO, said the University was delighted to host Ministers Pradhan and 
Clare for this important occasion, which highlighted the importance of 
education to the relationship between Australia and India. 

As part of the visit the Ministers had the opportunity to hear from researchers 
and students who are working on research initiatives in collaboration with 
India.

Professor Glover spoke warmly of Western Sydney University's own large and 
vibrant Indian student and staff population who enrich the University community 
and enliven the student experience. He also highlighted the University's 
long-standing education partnerships, transdisciplinary research and enterprise 
collaborations with Indian universities, agencies and the Indian Government.

These include delivering innovative water security solutions for rural 
communities in the face of climate change; developing sustainable agriculture 
practices such as protected cropping to help secure the world's food 
production; improving human health and wellbeing through evidence-based 
Ayurvedic medicine; and advancing our knowledge of space science with 
cutting-edge neuromorphic engineering. 

"On behalf of the University community, it was an honour to welcome Minister 
Pradhan, together with Minister Clare, to Western Sydney University and to 
showcase this institution's long and proud history of collaboration with India 
– one of our primary international partners," said Professor Glover.

"Our educational collaborations include our longstanding support for global 
mobility initiatives like the New Colombo Plan, as well as a wide range of 
postgraduate and entrepreneurial training programs to support startup 
development that are all about fostering the next generation of academic 
leaders, knowledge workers and entrepreneurs in both India and Australia.

"Our world-leading research partnerships with India are leveraging our 
collective research strengths to tackle the grand, often complex challenges, 
facing both countries. Together we are delivering real and lasting impact for 
many millions of people in Australia and India, while also promoting industry 
development, commercialisation opportunities and capacity building across the 
region."

The visit was also an opportunity for the Ministers to hear more about Western 
Sydney University's commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development 
Goals (SDGs), with the University recently named number one in the world for 
its social, ecological and economic impact in the latest Times Higher Education 
(THE) Impact Rankings.

As well as being named 1st overall worldwide, the University was recognised in 
a wide range of SDG categories, including 1st worldwide for SDG 6: Clean Water 
and Sanitation; 2nd worldwide for SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and 
Production; and 3rd worldwide for SDG 5: Gender Equality.

To read more about Western Sydney University's collaborations with India, visit 
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/Western_Sydney_University_hosts_Australia-India_Education_Council_meeting.


SOURCE: Western Sydney University

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