📘 Case Study: European Technical University Launching a Dual-Degree Program in India (2025)

🧭 Background

Opportunity: The Indian government, under NEP 2020, is actively encouraging foreign universities to establish partnerships, offer dual-degree and twinning programs, and even set up campuses in India.

Catalyst: The Indo-EU Free Trade Agreement and Germany’s recent designation of India as a strategic partner have opened the door for vocational training, STEM education, and applied research collaborations.

A German University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule) saw this as a chance to:

• Expand global outreach

• Attract top Indian students

• Strengthen Indo-European academic ties

• Align with India’s future workforce demand in AI, green tech, and engineering

🎯 The Opportunity

The university identified an Indian Tier 1 private institution with:

• UGC approval for international collaborations

• Strong local industry ties

• An existing AI/data science research center

• The appetite to co-develop a dual-degree program in Mechatronics + Applied AI

What made this attractive?

✔️ India has over 4.5 million engineering students currently enrolled.

✔️ Indian students are increasingly mobility-ready and looking for EU exposure.

✔️ NEP 2020 now legally supports dual degrees and academic credit transfer.

🔧 Execution Plan

Step 1: Curriculum Mapping & Credit Alignment

• Courses from both universities aligned to form a 4-year dual-degree structure

• 2 years in India + 2 years in Germany

• Outcome: a German bachelor’s degree + an Indian bachelor’s degree

Step 2: Regulatory Navigation

• Registered with India’s Academic Bank of Credits (ABC)

• Validated under UGC’s guidelines for foreign academic partnerships

Step 3: Industry Linkage

• Mapped student internships in both countries

• Supported by German Mittelstand companies already operating in India (e.g. Bosch, Continental, Siemens)

Step 4: Student Recruitment & Support

• Joint marketing across North and South India

• Remote support team based in India for:

  • Application guidance

  • Visa advisory

  • Scholarship navigation

  • Language prep (A1–B1 German)

Step 5: Delivery & Scaling

• First cohort capped at 60 students

• Program launched in Pune, with a hub plan for Bengaluru and NCR by 2027

• Focus areas: Renewable energy, AI + robotics, and automotive innovation

🔍 Strategic Insight

What sets this opportunity apart:

• Regulatory tailwinds in India supporting global engagement

• Germany’s increased openness to vocational + applied skilling models from India

• The overlap of industry and education through Indo-German manufacturing, clean tech, and AI sectors

• A shared political commitment to youth employability, green transition, and tech leadership

🚀 Recommendation for European Institutions

If you’re a university, applied science school, EdTech platform, or skills provider in Europe, the time to act is now.

🔹 Focus on tiered partnerships, not standalone campuses

🔹 Invest in India-based remote support teams for student lifecycle management

🔹 Align offerings with India’s National Credit Framework (NCrF)

🔹 Work with Indian institutions ready to co-own delivery and outcomes

🔹 Develop language-light, hybrid-first delivery to remove friction

💬 Closing Thought

The global classroom is no longer a concept.

It’s being built — and India is ready to co-lead.

Those who move now will shape not just programs, but education policy and industry readiness for a generation.