CII Higher Education Global Partnership Mission to Australia and New Zealand 2026

CII Education Department organised a Higher Education Global Partnership Mission to Australia and New Zealand from 10-14 August 2026, bringing together representatives from Indian higher education institutions to explore opportunities for strengthening academic, research and industry partnerships.

The delegation engaged with leading Higher Education Institutions and education stakeholders including University of Melbourne, Monash University, The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, University of Southern Queensland, Massey University, University of Waikato, Unitec and Manukau Institute of Technology. The programme also included interactions with Study Queensland - Queensland Government, the Consulate General of India, Melbourne, and the Consulate General of India, Auckland.

The delegation had enriching interactions with university leadership, faculty and researchers across a wide range of disciplines. Discussions explored academic and research collaboration, student and faculty mobility, academic pathways, industry-academia engagement and joint research opportunities, with emerging areas including AI and cybersecurity, health and health technology, sustainability and climate change, AgTech, energy, construction, robotics and wearable technologies.

The mission also provided an opportunity to visit research and innovation facilities and engage directly with faculty and research teams, highlighting the potential for faculty-to-faculty partnerships, joint doctoral research, industry-linked projects and two-way student mobility.

The mission concluded with the New Zealand-India Education Roundtable organised by the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC), bringing together education and industry stakeholders to discuss actionable opportunities for collaboration and mechanisms for taking partnerships forward.

The mission reflects CII's continued commitment to strengthening global higher education partnerships and creating meaningful linkages between Indian institutions, international universities and industry across education, research, skills and innovation.