Australia-India CEO forum deepening higher education ties in India

8 November 2023

Closer collaboration between Australian and Indian businesses and universities has taken a key step forward with today’s announcement by the Minster for Education Jason Clare of the Australian members of the Australia-India CEO Forum Education, Qualifications and Standards Joint Working Group.

Minister Clare made the announcement during his visit to India for the first meeting of the Australia India Education and Skills Council, co-chaired with Indian Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan.

The CEO Forum’s Education, Qualifications and Standards Joint Working Group will be co-chaired by Professor Duncan Maskell, Vice-Chancellor, University of Melbourne.

The Australia-India CEO Forum was established by the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers to tap into the experience and expertise of leading CEOs in Australia and India to grow bilateral trade and investment.

The Forum is hosted by the Business Council of Australia and partners with its Indian counterpart, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Australian members of the working group include Professor Bruce Dowton, Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University; Catriona Jackson, Chief Executive of Universities Australia; David Coltman, Chief Executive Officer of TAFE SA; and Professor Iain Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University.

The Australia-India CEO Forum, which is supported in Australia by the Business Council of Australia and in India by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is represented on the ground in Ahmedabad, Gujarat by CEO Forum Director, Jodi McKay who has travelled with the Minister to participate in two days of high-level discussions.

“Industry collaboration with higher education offers a massive opportunity for Australian and Indian companies, Ms McKay said.

“This week’s discussions offer business leaders from both countries the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and boost cooperation with universities. It is a critical foundation of the bilateral relationship.

“The Australia India CEO Forum is also establishing joint working groups in renewable energy and resources, the digital economy, infrastructure and finance.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a revitalised Forum in Mumbai in 2023 to create a contemporary mechanism for CEOs to make recommendations to both governments to meet the ambitions of the Australia India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).

The Forum’s recommendations to the Indian and Australian Governments are led by the joint working groups that meet between the formal CEO Forum meetings.