Khel Connect: Australia-India Sports Education & Innovation Pathways
The Australia India Institute is convening a landmark program to build the partnerships, knowledge, and capacity that will define the next decade of Australia-India sporting collaboration. Through a premier symposium and competitive seeding grants, Khel Connect creates practical pathways for bilateral collaboration in sports education and innovation to support India’s sporting ambitions. The initiative is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.
Khel Connect Symposium
A two-day symposium will take place on 12 & 13 October 2026 in India, bringing together leading voices from Australian and Indian higher education institutions, sporting organisations, and government bodies to identify opportunities for collaboration and forge lasting partnerships.
- Day 1: Open plenary on Australia-India sports cooperation, a panel session on the three priority sports specialisations, and a networking session
- Day 2: Three working sessions – one per priority sports specialisation – followed by a structured pitch and matchmaking session and open consortium development time
Khel Connect Seeding Grants
A competitive grant program funding Australian-Indian consortia to deliver high-impact, scalable capacity-building projects.
- AUD $150,000 total grant pool across the three sports specialisations
- Projects in areas such as the co-design of curricula in sports science, high-performance coaching, sports management, and design of integrated athlete support systems
- Six-month funded project period with sustainability and scaling built in from the outset