Internationalising higher education to make a difference to work, culture and society
International higher education is evolving through multidisciplinary teaching, collaborative research and industry engagement. By connecting academic learning with real-world challenges, this approach aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for a globally connected future
It was very exciting to meet the first cohort of students at the University of York Mumbai at the start of the academic year; their energy, ambition and enthusiasm were inspiring. They had many interesting questions for us about the values of the University, our research, and what we hope for the future. But since we announced our intention to set up the University, one of the most common questions we have received is: why is York in Mumbai, and what do we want to achieve together?
One response to this is that the Government of India’s New Education Policy of 2020 identified a role for international universities like York in meeting policy objectives in India. With the vitality of India, shifting government policies globally and expanded student choice, the opportunity was an attractive one for York.
However, York’s motivation goes much deeper than this, deriving from being international to our core — in the staff and student body, our research networks, our outlook, standards and academic ambition. When the University was founded in the 1960s, it was stated that the institution was created to educate “citizens of the world”. We are restless to make this mean more.
A campus in Mumbai creates new academic opportunities: for students and staff in York and India to learn together and about each other, whether in person or virtually; for York programmes to be contextualised for Mumbai, and for this to influence what we teach in York; for joint research programmes drawing on the different contexts; and for York to learn from the different expectations in India around topics like internships and student induction.
To establish the University, we have focused on a number of aspects as key to realising these opportunities. First, an excellent learning environment has been established in Powai, providing flexible spaces for individual and team-based learning which encourage interaction and questioning. Secondly, academic staff were recruited by York panels to York standards, attracting staff from around the world to Powai. Thirdly, the York programmes have been contextualised for Mumbai, with the same learning outcomes achieved through locally relevant examples and case studies.
Importantly, we are building research alongside education to provide an environment of discovery for learning, and to attract and retain the best academic staff. The opportunity to consider applications relevant to Mumbai, combining expertise from York and Mumbai, is exciting. Our recently launched Institute for Good Society aims to do this. The research and policy institute aims to contribute to the current and future challenges society faces. Its four areas of work — Business, Finance and Economy; Creative Culture; Environment; and Technology - connect academic research with questions being confronted by businesses, communities and policymakers.
Mumbai is central to this proposition. Rather than treating the city simply as a location for a university, the Institute sees it as a living lab: a place where researchers can work with businesses, communities and policymakers on questions around urbanisation, sustainability, technology, economic development and cultural transformation.
This approach to research is also reflected in our teaching at the University of York Mumbai. Areas such as computer science, artificial intelligence and cyber security sit alongside business, finance and the creative industries. These disciplines reflect fields where technology, economic change and societal questions increasingly intersect, and where the skills of our students will be most effective in looking at a problem from every angle. The Business of Creative Industries, for example, brings together creativity and business in a sector being reshaped by digital technologies, new forms of storytelling and changing models of cultural production.
The relationship with industry is similarly changing. At the University of York Mumbai, industry engagement is intended to inform learning itself. Finance professionals, for example, have contributed to discussions on the skills the sector needs, while industry professionals with academic roles contribute to teaching. Compulsory internships provide another bridge between academic knowledge and professional practice. The University of York Mumbai has its first cohort of students and staff, and the work to realise the potential set out above is under way.
The university aims to connect international academic standards with India’s educational and research needs through multidisciplinary learning, industry engagement and collaborative research
The writer is an Interim Vice-Chancellor and President, University of York; Views presented are personal.
