Tanzania will become home to the first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus outside of India. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated on July 6 that the campus would be opened at Zanzibar Island, which is a semi-autonomous province of Tanzania. This development came during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the African nation.
The educational authorities of both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up an IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar. During the MOU signing, India’s high commissioner to Tanzania, Binaya Pradhan, Raghunathan Rengaswamy, dean (global engagement) at IIT-Madras and Khalid Masoud Wazir, acting principal secretary of Zanzibar’s education ministry, were present.
Jaishankar and Zanzibar’s President Hussein Ali Mwinyi also witnessed this signing event. Jaishankar tweeted the announcement, “Witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of @iitmadras Zanzibar campus. Appreciate President @DrHmwinyi gracing the occasion, as also the presence of his Ministers. This historic step reflects India’s commitment to the Global South”.
Witnessed the signing of the agreement on setting up of @iitmadras Zanzibar campus.
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
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 5, 2023
Jaishankar further said, “I would actually underline that it is the first time that the IIT is going out into the world. For us, this is one of our most important brands. It is one of our most important educational institutions so I am so glad the IIT has followed the Navy in foraying into the world. I am sure that in the journey of the IIT they will also do the nation proud just as the Navy does everyday through its activities”.
Jaishankar is on a four-day official visit to Tanzania, where he is set to hold high-level talks and co-chair the 10th Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, the MEA said in a release.
To strengthen the education ties between the two countries, the IIT is opening its first-ever overseas campus in Tanzania’s Zanzibar in October this year with a batch of 50 undergraduate students and 20 master’s students, as per the reports.
MEA stated, “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,”.
This campus is opened on the lines of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends “high performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries”. Zanzibar will be one of three IIT campuses outside of India, with the others located in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.
MEA said, “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”.
A senior official of India’s education ministry stated, “The admission criteria will be decided by IIT-Madras, and degrees will be conferred by the institute. IIT-Madras will be responsible for planning pedagogical strategies for the offshore campus”.
According to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, this MOU is the first step in the internationalisation of Indian education. He 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. NEP is paving the way for making knowledge a key component of bilateral relations as well as for advancing global good”.
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
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 6, 2023
Jaishankar also attended a reception onboard Indian Naval Ship Trishul after the MOU signing event. India and Tanzania also saw the second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between the two countries, which was held in Arusha on June 28 and 29 earlier this year.
After concluding his visit to Zanzibar, Jaishankar will travel to Dar-es-Salaam city of Tanzania. During his visit to Tanzania, Jaishankar is set to hold high-level talks and co-chair the 10th Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a release.
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