IIT Delhi plans big to internationalise its campus: To grant 500 international fellowships in five years

NEW DELHI, JULY 25: IIT Delhi is increasing the number of foreign faculty and students on its campus in a big way. Boosted by its Institution of Eminence (IoE) status, it has allocated 500 fellowships for the next five years to woo postgraduate and PhD students from abroad.

This year, IIT Delhi has been able to increase the number of foreign students by seven times, with 70 students joining the campus in the last six months. At present, the institute is hosting 130 postgraduate and doctoral international students.

Continuing its efforts to internationalise the campus, IITD organised a summit meeting which hosted 18 ambassadors from various countries to explore the possibilities of attracting prospective International students and faculty to the institute.

Addressing the summit, Director V. Ramgopal Rao said, “We are connecting with the embassies and consulates more closely. We’re trying to connect with them and popularise the fellowships that we have. One way of connecting with prospective students and faculties is through these consulates.”

Delegates of Argentina, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Czech Republic, Gambia, Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Uganda and Zambia.

With its IoE status, IIT Delhi has more autonomy in recruiting foreign faculty. It currently has 3 foreign faculty from China, Ireland and South Korea. IITD plans to increase the number of international students and faculty to 10 percent of the total intake.