INDIAN CLASSROOM TO GLOBAL EXPOSURE

Twinning and transfer programmes allow students to get a foreign degree at about half the cost of a full course abroad.

- Pritha Roy Choudhury

Dinkar S Kashyap graduated with a double degree in aerospace and mathematics with honours in biomechanics in 2021, having completed half his programme in India and the rest in Australia. Originally a student of the International Centre for Applied Sciences (ICAS) Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Kashyap aspires to be a biomechanical scientist with expertise in cell and molecular modelling.

Kashyap studied the third and fourth years of his programme at the University of Adelaide, Australia, an opportunity made available by MAHE's transfer programme. Kashyap aims to join a postgraduate programme next and all options he's interested in are in Australia. "I am not sure where exactly I will do my postgraduation but perhaps Monash University, the University of Queensland or Australian National University," he said.

MAHE established the International Centre for Applied Sciences in 1994. "It was started with the objective of providing international education and exposure to Indian students," said Hareesha KS, professor, department of data science and computer applications.

Now, several private universities offer twinning and transfer programmes through collaborations with foreign institutions. SRM university, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), and Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET) all offer programmes involving time spent in a foreign, partner institution.