University of Liverpool to set up campus in Bengaluru, welcome first batch in August 2026
New Delhi, May 26 (PTI): The University of Liverpool is set to open a campus in Bengaluru and will welcome its first batch of students in August next year, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Monday, as he handed over the Letter of Intent to the varsity administration here.
The move comes after the University of Liverpool, part of the United Kingdom's Russell Group, received formal approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to open the first foreign university campus in Bengaluru.
The University of Southampton was the first UK university to receive approval and is set to start offering academic programs in Gurugram by July, 2025.
Pradhan also announced that 15 foreign universities will be coming to India by this academic year.
"Delighted to hand over the Letter of Intent to University of Liverpool, one of UK's premier academic institutions, for setting up a campus in India. Today's development is another milestone in India's journey of deepening academic partnerships with leading global universities, the minister said, adding that the development was a reaffirmation of India's emergence as a trusted partner in global higher education.
Pradhan also announced that 15 foreign universities will be coming to India by this academic year.
Expressing confidence in Liverpool's Bengaluru campus, the Union Minister said, "it will be a global campus that will push the boundaries of research and innovation and foster scientific temper for contributing to global welfare and prosperity."
The Bengaluru campus will initially offer programmes in Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Computer Science, and Biomedical Sciences. It will also introduce a programme in Game Design- a unique offering for a UK university campus in India to offer the subject.
The new campus will also create enriching global exchange opportunities, providing UK-based students with an exciting new destination for international study.
Senior leaders from the University of Liverpool also signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to explore future collaborative opportunities with companies and organisations including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited, Wipro Limited, YouWeCan, and Dream11.
"We are delighted to have received approval from the University Grants Commission to open Bengaluru’s first international campus. Opening a campus in the State of Karnataka and Bengaluru feels like the next natural step, building on the fantastic partnerships and collaborations we already enjoy there," Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool said.
Further stating that he is looking forward to providing students with access to an exceptional learning experience and a range of opportunities to develop their skills and employability, Jones added, "we are also committed to embedding a strong research culture to the benefit of industry, the region and the wider world."
In 2023, the UGC announced the setting up and operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India Regulations.
Two Australian universities - Deakin and Wollongong - already have campuses in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
Queen's University Belfast and Coventry University have also received approval for setting up campuses in GIFT City.
Chicago's Illinois Institute of Technology, which became the first US university to get a nod to set up its campus in India, will be established in Mumbai in 2026.
Delighted to handover the Letter of Intent to University of Liverpool, one of UK’s premier academic institutions, for setting up a campus in India.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) May 26, 2025
Congratulate and welcome University of Liverpool. Today’s development is another milestone in India’s journey of deepening… pic.twitter.com/tD661HtO1F
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
