The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday announced that the first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus will be set up in Tanzania's Zanzibar.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed on Wednesday for setting up a campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Zanzibar's President Hussein Ali Mwinyi inked the agreement.
“The first IIT campus to be set up outside India will be in Zanzibar,” the MEA said.
The statement released by the MEA said that the MoU was signed between the India's education ministry, IIT Madras and Zanzibar's ministry of education and vocational training.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and othser after witnessing singning of agreement on setting up of IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, in Zanibar | Twitter
"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 MEA said.
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends that high performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries.
"Recognising the strategic partnership between Tanzania and India, the relationship of educational partnership has been formalised by signing the document which provides the framework for the parties to detail out the setting up of the proposed campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar-Tanzania, with plans to launch programmes in October 2023," the MEA said.
Earlier this year, India and Tanzania held the second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting in Tanzania on June 28 and 29.
The campus is expected to be open in October 2023.
"This historic step reflects India’s commitment to the Global South", said Jaishankar in the tweet.
Witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of @iitmadras Zanzibar campus.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 5, 2023
Appreciate President @DrHmwinyi gracing the occasion, as also the presence of his Ministers.
This historic step reflects India’s commitment to the Global South. pic.twitter.com/X3vdnICnSE
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted that the initiative is an embodiment of PM Modi to strengthen South-South cooperation as well as forge stronger people-to-people ties with Africa.
#IITsGoGlobal!
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 6, 2023
Signing of MoU between @EduMinOfIndia, @iitmadras and MoEVT, Zanzibar-Tanzania for setting up of IIT Madras-Zanzibar campus marks a historic beginning towards internationalisation of Indian education.
The initiative is an embodiment of PM @narendramodi’s… pic.twitter.com/gQIirwZFUP
IIT Madras is expected to launch four undergraduates and five postgraduate programmes from the Zanzibar campus. The students graduating from the campus will be awarded IIT Madras degrees.
"The state-of-the-art 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," reads MEA statement.
