By Akshay Animesh

Rajgir, Nalanda/Mumbai, 20 August 2026: Nalanda University and The University of Western Australia (UWA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen academic, research and knowledge cooperation between India and Australia. The agreement was signed on 19 August on the sidelines of the 10th Annual IC3 Conference & Expo in Mumbai.

The MoU establishes a framework for joint research supervision, teaching programmes, post-doctoral research, conferences, symposiums and academic publications. It will also facilitate exchanges of faculty, researchers and students, while encouraging the sharing of academic resources and publications.

Nalanda University was represented by Professor Satyanarayan Shashtri and Dr Muneer Magry. UWA was represented by Vice Chancellor Professor Amit Chakma and Dr Ian Martinus, Western Australia’s Investment and Trade Commissioner for India-Gulf, along with senior officials from both institutions.

Welcoming the partnership, Nalanda University Vice Chancellor Professor Sachin Chaturvedi said the University is steadily expanding its international academic partnerships. He highlighted the special significance of cooperation with Australia, given the country’s valued association with the establishment and revival of Nalanda University.

The new partnership builds on the longstanding India-Australia connection surrounding Nalanda’s international character. By combining UWA’s contemporary academic strengths with Nalanda’s historic intellectual tradition, the MoU opens new opportunities for scholars, researchers, faculty and students to collaborate across disciplines and borders, further strengthening educational and cultural ties between the two countries.