Ian Knowles: How Queen's University Belfast brings UK learning to India

• Features

• 22/06/2026

British university-level education is renowned worldwide for its time-honoured tradition of academic excellence, stretching back more than 1,000 years. International students from around the world head to the British Isles to study at some of the highest-rated universities in the world, where a degree from a British institution can boost a graduate’s standing in the job market and, in some cases, their social standing.

UK universities are well aware of this reputation, with revenue from international students representing approximately 20% of total university income in the UK. However, tightened student visa requirements have led to higher financial thresholds and a reduced post-study work period, potentially putting a UK university education out of reach for some students.

To counter this, some UK universities are exploring alternative options for international students, allowing universities to continue offering tuition without students stepping foot on UK soil. It is no surprise that the strength of the UK’s higher education brand, combined with concerns over reduced revenue from a crackdown on international students, has led British universities to open international campuses around the world, particularly in China, Dubai, and Malaysia.

India, however, had not enjoyed the benefits of this expansion until now. In 2025, Prime Minister Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a trade deal between
the two nations, with Starmer announcing that nine UK universities would establish campuses in India. The move will bring accredited UK Master’s-level education to the country without the need for a visa, international living expenses, or travel. The deal is also expected to bring a 640 Crore boost to the UK economy.

While some British universities may be tempted to place their brand onto international campuses without matching the quality of their UK facilities or teaching environments, Queen’s University Belfast has taken a far more attentive and authentic approach to international education.

Queen’s University Belfast, one of the oldest universities in the UK and Ireland, is opening an Indian campus in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT City). The campus will not only offer courses taught and presented in the same way as in the UK, but will also feature a campus setup and AV system that closely mirror the Belfast campus.

Situated between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, this unique city serves as a global business hub with distinct regulatory, legal, and tax advantages that aim to attract both foreign and domestic investment.

At the centre of this project is Ian Knowles, AV support manager at Queen’s University Belfast. Ian has extensive experience in media and AV support for educational facilities, working with UK universities to create AV systems that operate seamlessly for staff while delivering a holistic experience for students. “I’d been in post with Queen’s University Belfast for around three months,” says Ian, “and I was informed that we were to
open a campus in India, so my job was to specify the AV component. What made our university unique is that we were not just sending out a tender describing what we would like the teaching rooms to be, we
were going to deliver that ourselves. The building was to be treated as if it was built in Belfast, which is unusual because you would usually procure a building with the infrastructure and equipment as part of one package. Everything from the network to the PCs and switching gear is all specified and commissioned by the university itself.

“We identified what infrastructure we wanted, how many network sockets we wanted. It was all really involved. I’ve worked on lots of buildings, and this is an easy process when they’re only a few hundred metres away. Doing it in India, where everything is different, was quite challenging.”

Ian enlisted the help of the PSNI Global Alliance via Belfast-based integrator Fluid AV, using the organisation’s global reach to engage Indian integrator Resurgent AV and begin the in-country delivery process. Ian continues: “The key focus for academics and building users was that they wanted the same experience in GIFT City as they would have in Belfast, and we achieved that down to the control system. To switch on a room in GIFT City is the same as it would be in Belfast, it’s the same equipment, the same feel. There was a real push for the experience to be the same, even down to the digital signage. We have a Brightsign
player in the Belfast’s campus’ welcome centre that plays a showreel, and the exact same setup is present in the GIFT City building. We’ve tried to keep the experience the same for both students and faculty. We’ve had the ethos on this project that it had to be a comparative experience to coming to Belfast. Even things like the access control and CCTV had to work the same, so that both systems can interoperate.”

The GIFT City campus is situated in a new, 10-storey building, featuring two PC labs, two lecture theatres with capacities of 200 and 90 seats, 40-person classrooms and multiple breakout rooms for 10 to 20 people. A meeting room and committee room were also delivered, matching the UK standard present in the Belfast campus, not to mention extensive digital signage in the student common room.

“We had good engagement with manufacturers throughout the process,” says Ian. “When the project was in its early days and I was specifying what we were putting in the rooms, companies like Sennheiser and others offered their support. We diverged slightly from our usual display manufacturer and went with Sony, who also offered support in the same way that they would offer in the UK. The unique thing is that we’ve done it in a completely different way.”

Building a campus to the same specifications was no small feat. Ian, alongside Fluid AV and Resurgent AV, had to work closely to ensure that procurement and product delivery for the campus ran smoothly.
“The procurement process was tricky as it took three months of work to purchase the equipment. There were a lot of contractual elements and invoicing to go through before we could even place the order so I was very wary about how we would manage this installation. Because it’s being built to the Belfast standard, a group of us went over in January 2026 to oversee the installation and the commissioning, and the project progressed rapidly. Getting kit into GIFT City itself was a challenge due to the paperwork involved, but Fluid AV and Resurgent worked closely together to make it happen.”

Today, Queen’s University Belfast is in the process of delivering the second phase of the project, which will open additional floors fully equipped with an AV system comparable to the Belfast campus. The university team aims to fully commission the project by the end of summer 2026.

Ian closes: “India is a thriving market for UK universities now and it’s the way the market is going. On projects like this, the university’s involvement can often be minimal. I could specify what the outcome should be, it
gets built, I receive some pictures and that would be the end of my involvement. But the GIFT City campus really is a university built to the same standard as it would be in Belfast. It helps to make students on this campus feel just as involved as a student at the Belfast campus.