Modified On Jun 06, 2023 10:32 AM by Mahaveer, Views: 21
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) is all set to open its first international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The institute is planning to start its classes by October 2023 with a batch of 50 undergraduate (UG) and 20 postgraduate (PG) students. IIT Zanzibar will be one of the 3 international campuses, the others being set up in Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi. The Zanzibar campus should be ready in the next 3-5 years.
A special team of five professors from IIT Madras visited Tanzania in February this year and held discussions with several officials on the opening of the campus. Zanzibar President Hussein Mwini gave permission for the campus, assuring autonomy the IIT would need to guarantee to maintain quality.
The campus for IIT in Zanzibar is likely to be completed within the next three to five years.
In February, when a delegation from IIT Madras visited Tanzania, Binaya Pradhan, an Indian diplomat and High Commissioner of India to Tanzania, shared a tweet saying that IITs in Tanzania are important for the development and nation building of not only Tanzania but also of the nation. can play an important role in the entire continent”.
The IIT Madras team that visited Tanzania for the offshore campus included Professor Raghu Rengaswamy, Professor Preethi Aghalayam, Professor Livi Philip, Professor KN Satyanarayana and Professor Annamalai Mani.
In 2022, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held several meetings with his counterparts to strengthen their bilateral ties. Conferences were held with Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Ghana to build an education and employment sector. During the meeting, Pradhan also discussed India's support for the IIT project in Tanzania for education and vocational training.
IIT Zanzibar will be one of three IIT campuses outside India, the others being located in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur. Each of these campuses will be designed to serve their respective region, with Zanzibar serving the East African region. According to IANS, the setting up of IIT in Tanzania is a significant step towards strengthening ties between India and Africa.
There were some reports which claimed that the offshore campuses of IITs may be named as "India International Institute of Technology" and faculty members of prestigious institutes of technology may be sent on deputation abroad.
