From Abu Dhabi to Zanzibar: How IIT is India’s new big export

Sept. 3, 2024, 12:32 p.m.

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Spices, electronics, handloom textiles, and Bollywood are well-known as some of India's most popular exports. However, there's a new addition to the list — Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

On Monday, September 2nd, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, attended the official opening of the first international campus of India's renowned Indian Institute of Technology in the UAE capital.

This inauguration comes just before the prince's planned visit to India — he will be in New Delhi on September 8 — where he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders.

Advertisement However, the IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi campus isn’t the only international venture. IIT-Madras opened its campus in Zanzibar in November of last year.

Let’s delve into how IITs, often referred to as India’s MIT and Harvard, are extending their reach beyond India.

New IIT in Abu Dhabi

On Monday, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the Abu Dhabi campus of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi). The inaugural class of 52 students will pursue BTech degrees in Computer Science and Engineering, and Energy Engineering, as announced in an official press release by the Embassy of India. According to an ANI news report, the inaugural undergraduate cohort comprises a diverse group of Indian, Emirati, and international students.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, graced the inauguration of IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi. Image Courtesy: @engciviluae/X The establishment of the IIT in the UAE is a key component of the Vision Document unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the prince in February 2022, which aims to further strengthen the relationship between the two nations.

During the grand opening ceremony, the Crown Prince recognized the new educational institution as a key milestone in Abu Dhabi's quest to establish itself as a global leader in research and innovation, as reported by The National.

Additionally, at the inauguration, it was also declared that IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi will collaborate with other leading higher education institutions in Abu Dhabi, including Khalifa University, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and Zayed University.

Advertisement IIT in Zanzibar

However, IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi isn’t the first IIT overseas campus. In July 2023, India announced its decision to establish an IIT campus outside the country in Tanzania. Reports suggest that the IIT campus in Zanzibar would commence offering programs from October and would be responsible for devising educational strategies.

This development followed the signing of an agreement by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his visit to the African nation. A senior education ministry official further indicated that the admission criteria for the Tanzanian institute would be determined by IIT-Madras. “Furthermore, IIT-Madras will be responsible for outlining educational strategies for the offshore campus,” the official was quoted as saying.

Advertisement The IIT Madras (IITM) Zanzibar was established last year. Image Courtesy: iitmz.ac.in The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the offshore campus is “representative of the long-standing friendship between India and Tanzania and a testament to India's commitment to fostering people-to-people connections across Africa and the Global South”.

The IIT Madras Zanzibar institute provides two full-time academic programs - 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. Earlier in May, IIT-Madras Zanzibar also introduced a new MTech program in Ocean Structures for the 2024-25 academic year.

Offshore IITs in the pipeline

Aside from IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi and IIT-Madras Zanzibar, IITs could soon have campuses in Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Malaysia. The Print had previously reported that IIT Delhi had submitted its interest to the Ministry of Education in opening a campus in Saudi Arabia.

Advertisement Meanwhile, in February, reports surfaced suggesting that IIT Madras would establish its second offshore campus in Sri Lanka. News agency PTI reported that the proposal for an offshore IIT campus in Sri Lanka was announced last November in the 2024 Budget presented by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is also considering the establishment of its second offshore campus in Sri Lanka. File image/PTI “A high-level delegation recently visited the Chennai campus to discuss the future plan. The talks are underway, and the campus is expected to be located in Kandy,” a source was quoted as saying.

Interestingly, the UK is also actively seeking to attract an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to set up an offshore campus within its borders. Some UK universities are already engaged in discussions with IITs to explore this possibility.

Advertisement These foreign offshore campuses are a key part of the Indian government's plan to expand the reach of education globally, as outlined in the new National Education Policy (NEP) of India 2020. Back in 2022, the Ministry of Education formed a 16-member committee to investigate the potential for Indian universities to establish overseas branches.

IITs — a jewel in India’s educational crown

Today, IITs stand as some of the most esteemed engineering institutions in India. It is the aspiration of every aspiring engineer in India to study at one of these institutes. In fact, in the recently released National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings, nine of the top ten engineering institutes are IITs, with IIT-Madras claiming the top spot, followed by IIT-Delhi and IIT-Bombay.

Some of the most successful CEOs have also graduated from IITs, enhancing their prestige worldwide. Notable examples include Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Flipkart founder Sachin Bansal, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, and FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam.

Until recently, graduates of IITs were also guaranteed high-paying jobs. In 2023, a study by TeamLease Services revealed that the median salary was Rs 15 lakh to Rs 16 lakh per annum. Notably, these institutions — 23 in total in India — have an acceptance rate even lower than some US Ivy League colleges.

But how did these institutes come about?

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laying the foundation stone of IIT Bombay. Image Courtesy: IIT Bombay In 1946, a prominent committee led by Sir Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, a renowned businessman, educator, industrialist, and public figure, recommended the establishment of four advanced institutes of technology modeled after their counterparts in Europe and the United States.

Four years later, in 1950, the first IIT was established in Kharagpur at a site in Hijli village, which was previously a detention camp. Four more IITs were founded in quick succession — IIT Bombay was established in 1958, followed by those at Madras (1959), Kanpur (1959) and Delhi (1961).

According to an Indian Express report, these IITs were established with the support and guidance of Western nations. Today, they have become institutions with top-notch teaching faculty across the country and highly talented students.

With inputs from agencies