IIT Delhi to set up campus in Abu Dhabi; master programmes launch in January 2024

NEW DELHI: Indian and United Arab Emirates today signed an agreement to establish a campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in Abu Dhabi.

The union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted about the agreement that was signed between the union ministry of education and the Abu Dhabi department of education and knowledge (ADEK) in presence of prime minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The PM is on a day-long visit to UAE.

Yet another #IITGoesGlobal !

MoU for establishment of @iitdelhi campus in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Hon. PM @narendramodi ji unfolds a new chapter in internationalisation of India’s education.

An exemplar of #NewIndia ’s innovation and expertise, the IIT Delhi campus in… pic.twitter.com/DYRy7Vbbwi

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 15, 2023

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir and IIT Delhi director Rangan Banerjee signed the agreement with ADEK under secretary Mubarak Hamad Al Mheiri. The IIT Delhi will start postgraduate courses at the new campus in January 2024 and bachelor-level programmes in September 2024.

Expressing his happiness, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the agreement will unfold a new chapter in internationalisation of India’s education. “An example of India’s innovation and expertise, the IIT Delhi campus in UAE will be an edifice of India-UAE friendship. The IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi will set a new template for leveraging the power of knowledge for both mutual prosperity and global good,” he said.

Sara Musallam, chairman of the ADEK, said the MoU represents an important step in Abu Dhabi's commitment to accelerate a world-class education system that serves the national development goals and priorities. “The execution of this MoU marks a milestone in our plans towards actualising a globally competitive education ecosystem. We anticipate that the IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi partnership will support our transition towards fostering an environment that nurtures innovation and accelerates high-level research,” Musallam said.

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IT Delhi was ranked second in the National Institute Ranking Framework, NIRF 2023, among all the engineering colleges in the country. It secured three position in research and overall category in the NIRF 2023.

The Delhi will be the second IIT after the IIT Madras to set up a campus on foreign soil. Recently, IIT Madras announced that its will open doors of its foreign campus at Zanzibar, Tazania, in October 2023.

The IIT Madras director V Kamakoti had announced that Preeti Aghayalam will head the IIT Zanzibar. The IIT Madras’ international campus will offer BSc and MSc courses in data science and artificial intelligence (AI) for a total of 70 seats initially. The academic session will begin from October 24, 2023.