India And Tanzania Have Signed An Agreement To Establish A Worldwide Campus For IIT Madras

On Thursday, India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tanzania to create the first IIT branch abroad in Tanzania, paving the way for IIT Madras' global campus to begin operations this year.

The IIT Tanzania campus is scheduled to open in October 2023, with the initial batch of 50 undergraduate and 20 master's students. The agreement was signed on Thursday by the Indian Ministry of Education, IIT Madras, and the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training Zanzibar. Dr. S. Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, praised the President of Zanzibar, Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, in a tweet on Thursday for being present during the MOU signing, which he said reflected "India's commitment to the Global South."

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted, “The initiative is an embodiment of PM @narendramodi’s commitment to strengthen South-South cooperation as well as forge stronger people-to-people ties with Africa.”

The Zanzibar branch of IIT Madras is slated to launch four undergraduate and five postgraduate degrees. While IIT Madras will have the last say on academic programmes, curricula, and student selection criteria, the government of Zanzibar-Tanzania will cover capital and running costs, according to a statement from the MEA. Students who complete these camps will receive degrees from IIT Madras.