February 4, 2025: Southern Cross University (SCU) is proud to announce the Access25 initiative, which will make international education more accessible for students in 2025. The initiative sets tuition fees for international students at an affordable $25,000 per year, ensuring students receive the best value for their investment while pursuing high-quality education. The university aims to build a diverse and vibrant student community by offering competitive, accessible pricing without compromising academic excellence.

The Southern Cross Delegation led by Prof Mary Spongberg, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor is currently in India to meet their key academic and research counterparts. They will be engaging with colleagues from IIBT Bombay, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, India, and Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences on sustainability and partnerships in this space between universities. Professor Jon Wardle and Associate Professor Christina Aggar will host discussions on fostering sustainability partnerships, and Professor Aggar will also visit the Asha Community Health and Development Society to further explore healthcare collaboration opportunities.

Speaking about the visit, Prof Mary said, “Southern Cross University has always had a strong presence in the Indian market, and we wish to maintain and expand that presence, through collaborations in research and with industry and community. Any vision we have for our presence in the Indian market must be underpinned by genuine partnership, impactful research collaboration, co-designed projects and curricula and shared experiences with students. I believe that working together, forming international teams, and sharing postgraduate students, builds trust, friendships and co-operation.”

With the ever-changing landscape for visas, Australian universities have also faced some challenges. Prof Mary, emphasized that the university continues to thrive despite these obstacles and said, “While the visa situation has been challenging for many universities, it has not negatively impacted SCU. We are open for business and remain confident that our region, with its well-established Indian communities in the Northern Rivers and Coffs Harbour, offers a supportive and welcoming environment for Indian students.”

In the past few years SCU has been broadening their research across the sciences and engineering, in nursing and education. Currently SCU has several projects in India, and researchers who frequently work with Indian colleagues and communities. Over the last six years SCU researchers have published around 5000 articles with researchers from Indian institutions -including the National Botanical Institute, the Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Science, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the Public Health Foundation of India, the Universities of Calcutta, Delhi and IIHMR Jaipur. These articles represent research across all the disciplines and are evidence of SCU’s longstanding engagement and collaboration with Indian partners.