ECU inks deal with Indian group

IN a week during which Education Minister Julia Gillard reinforced education ties with India, an agreement between Edith Cowan University and India's Adesh Group has been signed, calming widespread concern that recent negative publicity surrounding Australia's treatment of Indian students could affect Western Australia's education exports.

The program will be initiated in 2010, offering Adesh engineering students the chance to complete the second half of their bachelor of engineering at ECU after having successfully completed two years of their degree with Adesh.

The program has allayed concerns that the recent attacks could lessen numbers of students enrolling in tertiary institutions across Australia, impinging on WA's $840 million international education sector.

The signing of the MoU is said to have opened up opportunities for collaboration in other areas of study and the possibility of exchange programs being put in place, as well as increasing the number of Indian students attending ECU.

Indian media coverage of the recent attacks led to the Ms Gillard meeting with India's minister for human resource development, Kapil Sibal, to discuss opportunities for collaboration within the education sector.

Ongoing communications have been agreed upon, with education and industry representatives from both countries joining forces to sustain the mutually beneficial education relationship.