NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras inaugurated its first ever global campus in Zanzibar on Monday, with 50% of the students in its first batch from India, according to IIT-M director V Kamakoti.
The Zanzibar campus, the first offshore campus of any IIT, was inaugurated on Monday by Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi. IIT-M director Kamakoti joined the event virtually.
“This is a historic moment as for the first time, an IIT campus is being opened abroad. We are now in rapid internalisation, with international institutes in terms of joint degree programmes, faculty exchange, student exchange, and joint research programmes. Having a campus abroad will bring a much more diverse culture into the IIT system,” the IIT-M director said.
Kamakoti said that the campus has already started the first semester with around 50 students, half from India. The other half comprises students from Zanzibar, mainland Tanzania and Nepal. “40% of the admitted students are women,” he said.
The campus offers two full-time academic programmes to begin with including 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.
In July this year, the union government announced that the first IIT campus overseas will be established by IIT-Madras, in the Tanzanian island city of Zanzibar after an MoU was signed between both countries.
The institute enrolled students based on an entrance exam and personal interview conducted by IIT-Madras.
The fees will be $12,000 per year for the bachelor’s course while for the master’s course, it will be $4,000 per year. The faculty has been deputed from IIT-Madras or recruited from India. The institute has also become the first IIT campus to be led by a woman director-in-charge Preeti Aghalayam.
