 "IIT Madras to set up international campus in Tanzania's Zanzibar")
Indian Institute of Technology Madras will be the first IIT to set up an international campus, picking Tanzania for it. India and the East African nation recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the final procedural step that paves the way for the campus.
Zanzibar Campus, IIT Madras will be in Zanzibar Island, off the East African mainland and part of the Tanzanian republic. It is planned as a unique educational partnership between India and Tanzania.
The faculty will be deputed from IIT Madras or recruited from India during the initial days of this campus. Starting July 2023, the Indian government is offering scholarships to Tanzanian citizens to study in various degree programmes at IIT Madras.
“It is indeed a major milestone in the history of IIT Madras that we are establishing a campus at Zanzibar. Through this, we look forward to active participation in the future higher education initiatives at Zanzibar,” said V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras.
The new campus’s first academic year (2023-24) is scheduled to start in October 2023, offering two full-time programmes: a four-year Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and a two-year Master of Technology in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It will take in 70 students; applications for the 2023 batch are open.
“This is the most significant step forward in the internationalization efforts of IIT Madras. A detailed strategic plan that includes increasing the number of international students, fostering meaningful and synergistic joint degree programs with international academic institutions and enhancing faculty/student mobility has been laid out by us. Opportunities for a full-fledged physical campus abroad were being strongly explored and it is heartening to see the realization of these ambitions,” said Raghunathan Rengaswamy, dean (global engagement), IIT Madras.
India’s National Education Policy 2020 proposed expanding the country’s higher education resources abroad. The education ministry received interest from Tanzania’s government. After delegation visits by both sides, a partnership was agreed upon.
More From This Section
“IIT Madras is proud to bring its deep and long-term education and research strengths to East Africa. The campus is planned in similar terms as Madras, with verdant natural surroundings, state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, research facilities, and innovation centres,” said Preeti Aghalayam, Dean of School of Science & Engineering & Director-in-charge, Zanzibar campus, IIT Madras.
Faculty strength in the Zanzibar campus will be based on teaching expertise and quality. The campus is planned to have a structure where schools will host degree programmes. The first school is the School of Science and Engineering, which will host both the planned degrees for 2023-24. A detailed evolution plan for academic programmes is under development.
The Office of Global Engagement, IIT Madras, will coordinate the student entrance process, which will include a screening test developed by faculty experts of the institute and an interview.