First overseas IIT campus to come up in Tanzania, says MEA
New Delhi, July 6
The first IIT campus outside India will come up in Tanzania’s Zanzibar and it is expected to launch academic programmes in October, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. The MoU was inked on Wednesday in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi. Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa.
Jaishankar described the move as a “historic step” that reflected India’s commitment to the Global South. IIT Madras degrees will be awarded to the students enrolled in this campus.
The campus in Zanzibar is envisioned as a world class higher education and research institution with a broader mission to develop competencies in response to emerging global requirements.
“This campus is reflective of the longstanding friendship between India and Tanzania and a reminder of the focus India places on building people to people ties across Africa and the Global South,” said an MEA release. It is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which recommends that “high performing Indian universities should be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries”.
“The academic programmes, curricula, student selection aspects and pedagogical details will be by IIT-Madras, whereas the capital and operating expenditure will be met by the government of Tanzania,” it said.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also attended a deck reception onboard INS Trishul along with the President of Zanzibar and said the presence of the Indian frigate was a statement of India’s commitment to ensure peace and prosperity in the region. In 2003 and 2004, Indian Navy warships had sanitised the coast of nearby Mozambique when it had held the summit of the African Union and the World Economic Forum, respectively.
Jaishankar had arrived in Zanzibar on a two-day official visit on Wednesday.
