New Delhi, 26 May

UK's University of Liverpool is set to open a campus in City and will welcome first batch of students in August next year, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Monday as he handed over the Letter of Intent to the varsity administration.

The move comes after the University of Liverpool, part of the UK's prestigious Russell Group, received a formal approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to open the first foreign university campus in City.

"University of Liverpool is the fourth foreign university to publicly announce its presence in India. By this academic year, 15 foreign universities will be coming to India, especially in STEM. I am confident Liverpool's campus in Bengaluru will be a global campus that will push the boundaries of research and innovation and foster scientific temper for contributing to global welfare and prosperity," Pradhan said.

The City campus will initially offer programmes in Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Computer Science, and Biomedical Sciences. It will also introduce a programme in Game Design — a unique offering for a UK university campus in India to offer the subject.

It will also create enriching global exchange opportunities, providing UK-based students with an exciting new destination for international study.

University of Liverpool senior leaders also signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to explore future collaborative opportunities with companies and organisations including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited, Wipro Limited, YouWeCan, and Dream11.

"We are delighted to have received approval from the University Grants Commission to open Bengaluru’s first international campus. Opening a campus in the State of Karnataka and Bengaluru feels like the next natural step, building on the fantastic partnerships and collaborations we already enjoy there," said Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool.

"We look forward to providing talented students with access to an exceptional learning experience and a range of fantastic opportunities to develop their skills and employability. We are also committed to embedding a strong research culture to the benefit of industry, the region and the wider world," he added.