IIT-Madras' campus in Zanzibar to be inaugurated in early November: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: The offshore campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Tanzania's Zanzibar will be inaugurated in early November, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday. The minister made the announcement at an event to confer an honorary doctorate on Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

"I am happy that the first offshore campus of any IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) is being set up in Zanzibar. I am told that IIT-Madras' Zanzibar campus is scheduled to be inaugurated early next month," the minister said.

"This institute will prove to be a milestone in educational cooperation between two nations and continents by providing students from Tanzania and other African countries access to world-class engineering and technology education, which will help in nation building and drive economic growth, technology, development and research and innovation in Africa," Pradhan added.

Thanked H.E. @SuluhuSamia for hosting IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania and also shared India’s keenness to work closely with Tanzania on advancing its education and skilling priorities. pic.twitter.com/AGLUlMdOcq

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) October 9, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "...The announcement by IIT Madras to open a centre at Zanzibar is an important milestone for our relationship. In the field of defence, we have agreed on a five-year roadmap. Through this, new dimensions will be added in areas like military training, maritime cooperation, capacity building and defence industry. I am glad that Tanzania has decided to join the Global Biofuels Alliance launched by India at the G20 Summit," the ANI reported.

An MoU, signed in July between India and Tanzania, was the final procedural step that paved the way for the campus. The institute will offer two full-time academic programmes -- a four-year Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and a two-year Master of Technology in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

(With inputs from PTI)