The first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) offshore campus will be placed in Zanzibar, Tanzania. IIT Madras plans to introduce programmes in October 2023 in the proposed campus of IIT-M in Tanzania. In this consideration, an agreement for setting up the campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar- Tanzania, was signed between the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Government of India, IIT Madras, and the Ministry of Education and vocational training (MoEVT) Zanzibar- Tanzania on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed in the presence of HE Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar, and external affairs minister of India S Jaishankar.

The official statement said this campus reflects 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.

It further said that this unique collaboration would bring the top-ranked educational expertise of IITM to a prime destination in Africa and serve the current needs. The new IIT campus abroad will also deepen research partnerships with other top-ranked academic institutions worldwide.

IIT Madras will frame the academic programmes, curricula, student selection aspects, and pedagogical details, whereas the government of Zanzibar-Tanzania will handle the capital and operating expenditure.

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

The statement read that IIT Madras degrees will be awarded to students enrolled on this campus. The state-of-the-art interdisciplinary degrees are expected to attract a diverse cohort and students from Africa and other countries. Indian students are also eligible to apply to these programmes,” the statement read.

The institute also said the offshore campus will enhance the quality of IIT Madras education and research due to student and faculty diversity. High commissioner of India, Tanzania Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, IIT Madras dean global engagement Raghunathan Rengaswamy, and acting principal secretary of MoEVT Zanzibar Khalid Masoud Wazir signed the agreement on behalf of MoE, IIT Madras and MoEVT Zanzibar- Tanzania, respectively.