Griffith University and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) have announced a significant expansion of their long-standing academic partnership with the launch of a Dual Award Doctoral Programme and plans to establish the Griffith–MAHE Centre of Research Excellence.
The collaboration marks Griffith University’s first partnership of this scale in India and aims to strengthen globally connected research, academic mobility and interdisciplinary innovation between the two institutions.
Under the Dual Award Doctoral Programme, PhD scholars will be jointly supervised by faculty members from both universities, enrolled simultaneously at Griffith and MAHE, and awarded doctoral degrees from both institutions upon completion of a single integrated research programme. Students will conduct research across both campuses, gaining access to advanced research infrastructure and international academic networks.
Initially focused on health and transdisciplinary research, the programme is expected to expand into engineering, information technology, sustainability, sports science, digital health and humanities.
As part of the initiative, both institutions will jointly establish a Collaborative Seed Funding Scheme with an initial commitment of AUD 100,000 each to support collaborative research projects over the next three years.
Professor Carolyn Evans said, “This milestone gives doctoral scholars access to the expertise, infrastructure and networks of two world-class universities while strengthening research and innovation ties between Australia and India.”
Dr Sharath K. Rao, Vice Chancellor of MAHE, added, “This expanded partnership strengthens doctoral education and collaborative research while fostering global knowledge exchange and innovation.”
The partnership aligns with the growing momentum in India-Australia collaboration across education, innovation and research, while creating pathways for future industry partnerships and globally relevant research outcomes.
