New Delhi: In a boost to India-Tanzania ties, the first Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) campus outside India will be set up in Zanzibar-Tanzania. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up the campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar-Tanzania was signed between India's Ministry of Education, IIT Madras, and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT), Zanzibar-Tanzania on Tuesday, July 4.
The pact was inked in the presence of Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar, and Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
India's education diplomacy in Tanzania to bolster ties: 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. The Indian High Commissioner in Tanzania Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras, and Khalid Masoud Wazir, Acting Principal Secretary, MoEVT Zanzibar, signed the MoU.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on internationalization and recommends that "High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries”. Recognizing the strategic partnership between Tanzania and India, the educational partnership has been formalized by signing the document which provides the framework for the parties to detail the setting up of the proposed campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar-Tanzania, with plans to launch programs in October 2023.
This unique partnership will bring the top-ranked educational expertise of IIT Madras to a prime destination in Africa and serve the imperative current needs of the region. The academic programs, curricula, student selection aspects, and pedagogical details will be shared by IIT Madras, whereas the capital and operating expenditure will be met by the Zanzibar-Tanzania government.
In recent years, India has been forging ahead to increase its engagement with African countries and education has become one of the important components to maintaining ties in the changing geopolitical scenario with these small countries on the continent.
India's reach out to Africa: IIT Madras degrees will be awarded to the students enrolled in this campus. The interdisciplinary degrees are expected to attract a diverse cohort and will include students from Africa and other countries as well. Indian students are also eligible to apply to these programs.
The setting up of the IIT campus shall also enhance India’s reputation globally and its diplomatic relationships and expand the international footprint of IIT Madras. It is also likely to enhance the quality of IIT Madras education and research further, due to student and faculty diversity from the international campus. It will further serve to deepen research collaborations with other top-ranked academic institutions worldwide.
IIT campus in Zanzibar: Tanzania is envisioned as a world-class higher education and research institution with a broader mission to develop competencies in response to emerging global requirements, deepen ties between nations, and support research and innovation in the region. It will serve as an example to the world, of the aspirational qualities of Indian higher education and innovation.
