Fostering inter-regional co-operation through diverse international research collaborations and innovative cross-border internships
Presentation by Dr Brigid Freeman, Senior Researcher (Education) and Academic Fellow, Australia India Institute
Symbiosis International University – Association of Indian Universities (SIU-AIU) Annual Conference on Internationalisation of Higher Education (Virtual) Track 5 Fostering Dialogue for Interregional Cooperation – Australasia and India
16th April 2022
Introduction to the Australia-India relationship
In recent years, the Australia-India bilateral relationship has matured, reflecting some shared geopolitical and economic drivers. Our governments[1] have elevated the Australia-India relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) (see DFAT, 2020) and signed the Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (AI-CECA) (see DFAT, 2022a).[2] The relationship is grounded in commitments to defence co-operation, trade in strategic exports and imports,[3] as well as aspirations regarding increased investment.
Richness of education and research inter-regional co-operation: Australia-India
The education relationship supports this agenda, such that education and research aligned with defence, trade and investment objectives have special resonance (e.g., cyber security, critical minerals, agriculture, pharmaceuticals). However, in addition to these mutually agreed strategic priorities, Universities Australia data attests to the rich and growing connections between Australian universities and Indian higher education institutions[4] around multiple science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) disciplines.
Earlier Universities Australia data analysed by Freeman (2017) suggests that most Australia-India Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) involve diverse institutions, and traverse STEM (predominantly engineering and technology, information and computing sciences, medical, health and biological sciences), social science (mostly management, and law and legal studies) and the humanities (mostly communications and culture, creative arts). Freeman (2017) reported:
Most Australian universities have formalised MOUs with Indian higher education institutions, with Deakin University and RMIT having the largest number of individual agreements. Australian university’s engagement is concentrated in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where India’s population and infrastructure are heavily concentrated. While a third are longstanding, two thirds were only established recently. Over one quarter of all MOUs are with India’s leading higher education institutions, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and elite universities (e.g., University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University). As such, a surprisingly large proportion (three quarters) of Australian university’s MOUs are with tier 2 and tier 3 specialist institutions, comprehensive universities, and other Indian higher education institutions. (p. 3)
Our aspirations for inter-regional co-operation must accommodate the richness of our knowledge systems and shared endeavours.
Ambitious agendas for increased global and inter-regional co-operation around education and research were highlighted in the Government of India’s National Education Policy 2020. The NEP prioritises partnerships with high-ranked foreign institutions addressing global challenges. Co-operation between elite higher education institutions is well illustrated by Australia-India joint PhD academies,[5] most recently including India’s Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) with the University of Western Australia.
In addition to joint PhD academies, Australia-India education-based co-operation includes collaborations with India’s tier 2 and tier 3 specialist research institutions, comprehensive universities and other Indian higher education institutions. Collaborations are also emerging through cross-border education-industry partnerships (e.g., internships, or work integrated learning).
International research collaboration
Studies on global science and internationalisation have long highlighted the role of international research collaboration in furthering inter-regional cooperation. My research with Dr Andrew Deuchar (Deuchar & Freeman, 2021) identified, within the context of Australia-India research collaborations, seven good practices. This includes:
- Physical mobility, particularly in the early stages of projects;
- Harnessing new communication technologies;
- Undertaking a spectrum of research, collaboration and teaching elements;
- A relationship built over time, for the long term;
- A relationship built on mutual interests and complimentary capabilities;
- Understanding the diversity of India; and
- Visibility and consolidation of Australia’s research strengths and focus on India.
Aspiring to embed these good practices would accelerate our inter-regional co-operation ambitions. This will require attention to associated enablers, including research visa processing, support for physical and online people-to-people connections, improved literacies about our respective countries, and increased recognition of the role of HASS research. It will also require the commitment of governments and institutions to academic freedom.
Australia-India internships
In terms of education-industry partnerships, my research with Dr Karen Barker (Freeman & Barker, 2022a; Freeman & Barker, 2022b) has identified cross-border internship models involving industry, institutions, and students in rich learning partnerships. Providing opportunities for inter-regional co-operation for skills and higher education students is part of a forward-looking strategy for improved bilateral relations involving industry.
The models developed through our research have the capacity to accommodate peer engagement through extracurricular activities (including competitions, hackathons, and industry certification), as well as participation in online, onshore, and offshore internships with Indian host organisations. These models represent an important pivot to India-facing mobility for students of Australia’s education systems, introducing reciprocity into the flow of students and learning. While at the same time, strengthening education-industry partnerships across and within our nation’s borders.
Learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic
Inter-regional cooperation can also benefit from sharing our learnings as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The myriad ways in which higher education systems and institutions responded to, and are recovering from, disruptions over the last two years. This is consistent with the Joint Statement on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Republic of India and Australia, which resolved “to boost collaboration on science, technology and research to support … national COVID-19 responses” (2020, para. 5).
Our Higher Education in Emergencies Group[6], involving Dr Ian Teo (in Australia), Professor Peodair Leihy (in Chile) and Professor Dong Kim (in Japan) has been analysing high level recovery strategies in terms of geopolitics and jurisdictional contexts, and shifts in system policy and regulation. We’ve developed a diagnostic lens to analyse these system level domains, as well as domains focused on the institution level: financing, infrastructure, teaching and learning, research and research training, pathways, governance and leadership, and human resources (Leihy et al.,2022). There is much to learn from co-operating across our borders to explore challenges in these critical system and institution-level domains, to better prepare for other looming emergencies, such as climate change.
Education and research opportunities
Going forward, we welcome the rich range of mutually beneficial opportunities for sustained inter-regional co-operation.
References
– Australian Government. (2021). Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030. Australian Government. https://www.dese.gov.au/australian-strategy-international-education-2021-2030
– Australian High Commission New Delhi. (n.d.). Australia-India relationship. https://india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/relations.html
– Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2020). Joint statement on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Republic of India and Australia. https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/india/joint-statement-comprehensive-strategic-partnership-between-republic-india-and-australia
– Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2022a). Australia-India ECTA official text. https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/negotiations/aifta/australia-india-ecta-official-text
– Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2022b). An update to an India economic strategy to 2035: Navigating from potential to delivery. Australian Government. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/india-economic-strategy-update-report.pdf
– Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2022c). Australia’s Indian diaspora: A national asset. Mapping the community’s reach into the Australia-India economic relationship. Australian Government. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/australias_indian_diaspora_220317_full_report.pdf
– Deuchar, A., & Freeman, B. (2021). Strengthening Australia-India Research Collaboration and Engagement: Case Studies and Good Practices. Australia India Institute. University of Melbourne.
– Freeman, B. (2017). The nature and extent of university engagement with Indian higher education institutions. Australia India Institute.
– Freeman, B., & Barker, K. (2022a). Building the evidence base for cross-border work integrated learning models: The case of Australia and India. Australia India Institute. University of Melbourne.
– Freeman, B., & Barker, K. (2022b). Opportunities to increase Australia-India WIL engagement: Key findings and Analysis. Australia India Institute. University of Melbourne.
– Goyal, P. (2022, April 2). Side letter to HE Dan Tehan, Minister for Trade and Investment of Australia, Government of Australia. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/aiecta-side-letter-post-study-work-india-to-australia.pdf
– Leihy, P., Freeman, B., Teo, I., & Kim, D. K. (2022). Ramifications of COVID-19 for higher education systems and institutions. In S. Gonçalves (Ed.), Pandemic, disruption and adjustment in higher education. Brill.
– Universities Australia (2022). International links (member universities). https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/policy-submissions/international/international-links-member-universities/
[1] Australian Government commitments are elaborated in two reports. First, An Update to an India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery (IES) (DFAT, 2022b) which discusses, amongst other things, technology and space, science and innovation, and education. Second, Australia’s Indian Diaspora: A National Asset. Mapping the Community’s Reach into the Australia-India Economic Relationship (DFAT, 2022c). This paper reports that “The share of [Indian diaspora] academics at lecturer level and above increased from 1.8 to 1.9 percent from 2016 to 2020. This is positive movement, although the Indian diaspora in Australia is estimated to represent almost 3 per cent of the total population” (p. 25).
[2] Agreement was also reached, in connection with the signing of the AI-CECA, to extend post-study work rights to Indian international students in Australia (i.e., for students completing diploma/trade qualifications, up to 18 months; for bachelor degree [including honours], up to two years; for masters, up to three years; for doctoral degrees, up to four years) (see Goyal, 2022).
[3] This includes exports from Australia to India (coal, copper, and gold), and imports from India to Australia (petroleum, pearls, gems, and medicines) (Australian High Commission New Delhi, n.d.). It also includes Australia’s strong export education sector, involving large numbers of Indian international students studying with Australian education and training institutions, but limited outbound mobility to India.
[4] Growth in the number of academic/research collaboration agreements between Australian universities and Indian higher education institutions – from 98 (2007) to 439 (2018) according to Universities Australia (2022) – is indicative of strengthening connections. By 2018, Deakin (56), RMIT (45), Macquarie (25), Swinburne (22), the University of Western Australia (21), and Queensland University of Technology (21) remained particularly well represented. In 2018, these agreements encompassed academic/research collaboration (337), staff exchanges (139), student exchanges (74), study abroad (36) and short term/other mobility programs (16). This reflects the importance of diverse research foci and broad-ranging people-to-people links as international research collaborations and other forms of engagement mature.
[5] Since the establishment of the IITB-Monash Research Academy many similar such initiatives have been pursued, including the IITH and Swinburne University of Technology (IITH-SUT) joint doctoral program, and Asian Smart Cities Research Innovation Network (ASCRIN) involving La Trobe University, IIT Kanpur and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. Other notable examples include Curtin University’s engagements with IITs (Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati, Kanpur, Dhanbad, Bombay) in Western Australia, the Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI) and Australia-India Research Centre for Automation Software Engineering (AICAUSE), involving RMIT and the ABB Group. The University of Melbourne also has extensive India connections, including the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT).
[6] In addition to me, the Higher Education in Emergencies Group involves Dr Ian Teo from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Professor Peodair Leihy from Universidad Andrés Bello, Chile and Professor Dong Kim from Okayama University, Japan.