With over 50% Indian students in pilot batches, IITs in Zanzibar & Abu Dhabi ramp up outreach

The Print

15-05-2025

Speaking to ThePrint, IIT Madras Zanzibar campus director-in-charge Preeti Aghalayam said that over 50 percent of the students in their inaugural batch of 100 are Indians.
The IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania—the first-ever IIT established abroad—is working to raise awareness across the African continent. Meanwhile, the IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi has embarked on aggressive outreach efforts in countries neighbouring India, the UAE, and Southeast Asia.
New Delhi: With inaugural batches comprising a majority of Indian students, the two international campuses of India's premier engineering institutes, IIT Madras in Zanzibar and IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi, are making significant strides in outreach across neighbouring countries. Both institutions are also set to expand their course offerings considerably this year.
Noting that the IIT brand is widely recognised in India but still gaining visibility in Africa, Aghalayam explained that the institute is addressing this gap through targeted outreach—including in-person visits to neighbouring countries, online tutorials for entrance exams, and active use of social media platforms.
'I often say that if you are anywhere in India and mention you are from IIT or IIT Madras, people immediately understand what that means. But across Africa, the awareness about us is not as widespread.
'That is why we are making every possible effort to engage—whether it is in-person visits to countries like Uganda, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, or through regular webinars and online sessions to talk about student applications. Wherever we get even the smallest opportunity, we make sure to show up and build that connection,' Aghalayam said.
The first batch of the Zanzibar campus, which began functioning in October 2023, is now entering its fourth semester. According to Aghalayam, the institute currently has around 100 students enrolled across its two programmes—a four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) programme in data science and artificial intelligence, and a two-year Master of Technology (MTech) in the same field—with half of the student body hailing from India.
'About 50 percent are from India, a few are from the Indian diaspora, and the rest are African students. So far, we have had representation from Zanzibar, mainland Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia. We are expecting more countries to be represented in the upcoming academic year,' she added.
The IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi—the second IIT to be established abroad as part of the Indian government's push to internationalise higher education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020—has 50 out of 77 students in its first batch, nearly 65 percent, from India.
'Of the 53 BTech students, 39 are from India; among the 17 MTech students, six are Indian; and out of seven PhD students, five are Indian. The rest include Emiratis and a few international students as well,' executive director of IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi, Shantanu Roy, told ThePrint.
Roy added that the institute has launched intensive outreach initiatives in countries neighbouring India, the UAE, and Southeast Asia. 'We are also engaging with the significant international community within the UAE, and additional outreach efforts are being planned across Africa.'
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Parent campuses continue to anchor operations
According to Roy, the IIT Delhi campus in India is fully engaged in operating the Abu Dhabi campus, including faculty presence.
'As of now, all faculty on the Abu Dhabi campus have come from the Delhi campus. In general, we are avoiding online classes to the extent possible and only using it as an exception, as per regulations of our Senate. Most classes are in person, as are the laboratories, tutorials and help sessions,' he explained.
Aghalayam emphasised that the Zanzibar campus has received invaluable support from the IIT Madras campus in India—not only through virtual mentorship but also via senior faculty members who travel to Zanzibar to teach for entire semesters.
'These esteemed professors, with their extensive experience from top institutions across India and abroad, bring a wealth of expertise to our students,' she said.
Additionally, the Zanzibar campus recently hired a Kenyan faculty member who speaks Kiswahili, enhancing the institute's local connect. 'This semester, we also have faculty from IIT Bombay joining us,' Aghalayam added.
New courses, new campus
Both pioneering campuses are set to launch new programmes this year. While IIT Delhi's Abu Dhabi campus will introduce a course in chemical engineering, the IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar is preparing to roll out a programme in chemical and process engineering.
'Given the abundance of natural resources in Africa, especially in East Africa, we believe these programmes can offer significant value,' said Aghalayam.
'Last year, we introduced a Master's programme in ocean structures, in addition to our data science and AI courses. We are also exploring niche Master's programmes, potentially in sustainable infrastructure, energy, and chemical engineering, although these are still in the planning stages. At the undergraduate level, we are preparing to launch a chemical and process engineering programme in the coming weeks, if not months,' she said.
The IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar is also set to relocate to a larger space. Aghalayam revealed that the government of Zanzibar has allocated 200 acres of land, and the institute is working closely with local authorities to develop it into a permanent campus.
'The good news is that we are already outgrowing our current space, and in the near future, we may not have enough room to accommodate all the plans we have for IIT Madras Zanzibar. As a result, we will begin transitioning to the new campus in stages, with a full move expected in the future. However, we will retain this space for student innovation activities,' she noted.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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