The University of New England will train hospital managers for India's health industry - a project it says will benefit both countries.
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"UNE's decades of experience in online education is opening doors in the rapidly growing Indian economy to meet an insatiable demand for specialised skills training," a university spokesperson said.
The university received more than $62,000 from the Australia-India Council (supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) to promote stronger links between the two countries, and promote Australia's foreign and trade interests. It was one of 11 grant recipients out of 166 applicants.
UNE will train administrators in India's large metropolitan hospitals, smaller regional institutions, and community centres (mostly in rural areas).
Professor Debra Dunstan, head of the School of Psychology, will lead the project. She has won awards for her work in original curriculum design and teaching.
"India's health sector has grown exponentially," Professor Dunstan said. "Having skilled hospital managers, across all its tiers, is crucial to support this growth."
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The project will also raise awareness of the importance of online education, and develop a model for in-country education support.
"Online education is in its infancy in India, but holds great potential to open up training opportunities to more candidates," Professor Dunstan said. "It is important that we demonstrate to our stakeholders that authentic, job-relevant learning can reliably be delivered online."
UNE has provided in-country education support for more than 30 years, Professor Dunstan explained, including in the Maldives, the United Kingdom, Nauru, Bhutan, Japan, South America, and Indonesia.
The project's findings, she said, would improve and diversify UNE's postgraduate degrees in health management, and form the basis of short courses.
Professor Dunstan will work with Mumbai-based social enterprise Beyond Borders Learning Programs (BBLP).
"Beyond Borders has over a decade's experience in delivering experiential learning programs, including health services," she said. "I'm very excited about this collaboration and the potential it holds to empower participants."
Professor Dunstan first met BBLP Chief Executive Officer Arunabha (Aaron) Pal in 2016 when she participated in one of the organisation's study abroad programs.
Mr Pal said the project would address the India Economic Strategy (IES)'s recommendations for health and education:
"The IES has identified online education as crucial to meeting Indian training needs. There is also an acknowledged shortage of key skills in health management. The need for well-trained hospital managers is increasingly important, and we have to look beyond traditional training methods to keep up with sector demands."
Beyond Borders aims to create industry-academia-government partnerships within the Asia-Pacific, and to meet the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to build a better world by 2030.
"The AIC Grant and the UNE initiative is pioneering the creation of such symbiotic and equitable long-term social and economic partnerships," Mr Pal said. "Beyond Borders is honored to play an important role in this project."
