The University of Sydney has received a $180,000 Maitri Grant to create a three-year music partnership with India’s Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts. The project will support student travel, staff exchanges, curriculum development and community programs across Sydney and Bengaluru.
Sydney Maitri Grant supports three-year partnership
The University’s Conservatorium of Music will lead the initiative, titled A Partnership for Indian-Australian Music, Diaspora Empowerment, and Cultural Exchange. It is among 41 projects funded through the Australian Government’s 2026 Maitri Grants Program, which aims to strengthen education, research, cultural and business links between Australia and India.
The funding was announced as part of a wider package of bilateral initiatives presented by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Maitri program is administered by the Centre for Australia-India Relations, with “Maitri” meaning friendship in Sanskrit.
Students to study music in Sydney and India
Sydney Conservatorium students will have opportunities to travel to Bengaluru and learn alongside musicians, teachers and students at SaPa. Indian artists and educators will also visit Sydney for performances, workshops and collaborative projects at the Conservatorium’s Macquarie Street campus and future teaching facilities in Parramatta.
The exchange will expose students to Indian musical traditions while giving artists from different backgrounds space to explore new approaches to performance and composition. Rather than treating Indian music as an occasional cultural activity, the project aims to bring it more directly into university-level teaching and creative practice.
Indian-Australian communities join the program
The partnership will extend beyond university campuses by involving Indian-Australian musicians and communities in Parramatta and across Western Sydney. Workshops, performances and community engagement activities will connect the Conservatorium’s academic expertise with neighbourhoods that have strong links to Indian music and culture.
University Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Scott said the project would expand the Conservatorium’s cultural reach beyond Macquarie Street. SaPa co-founder Bindu Subramaniam said the collaboration could bring greater knowledge and understanding of Indian music into mainstream higher education in Australia.
New curriculum and teaching resources planned
Academics and SaPa educators will develop curriculum resources, teaching materials and cross-cultural learning methods for music programs in both countries. Staff exchanges will also help teachers compare how Indian and Western musical traditions are presented, performed and taught.
SaPa, based in Bengaluru, works with more than 40,000 children each year through its school programs and is known for combining Indian and Western approaches to music education. The collaboration therefore offers the Conservatorium access to an established teaching network rather than a short-term performance partnership.
The grant strengthens the broader Australia-India relationship through practical academic and cultural exchange. Its long-term value will depend on whether the new curriculum, community links and student pathways continue after the three-year funding period ends.
