The Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is planning to expand its collaboration with the Western Sydney University, Australia. The two universities have been collaborating on a dual degree programme for PhD students since 2019, and the KAU now hopes to extend the ties to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well.
KAU Vice-Chancellor B. Ashok and the senior faculty will hold discussions on the matter with Tim Thomas, CEO, Centre for Australia-India Relations, who is visiting the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, here on Thursday. Initial discussions in this regard were held when an Indian delegation which included Dr. Ashok visited the Western Sydney University in November last year.
The current proposal pertains primarily to the four-year BSc (Hons.) programmes offered by KAU in Agriculture, Forestry, and Cooperation and Banking and the BTech programme in Agricultural Engineering. “The idea is that our undergraduate students will spend the first three years of study at KAU, and if they opt to, selected students can spend the final year at Western Sydney University, earning themselves a dual degree from both universities. We are looking at around 30 students to begin with,” Dr. Ashok said.
In both universities
For collaboration in the postgraduate programme, further discussions are planned with the Australian university, he said. Both universities had inked an MoU for a dual degree programme for PhD students in 2019. Under it, candidates spend three semesters each at both universities, said Roy Stephen, Dean of Faculty (Agriculture), KAU.
In November last year, there were reports that the Western Sydney University was planning to establish a campus in Bengaluru.
