Centre receives proposals from Bhutan, Morocco for IIT offshore campuses

NEW DELHI: The central government has received requests from Bhutan and Morocco to explore the setting up of offshore campuses of prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), according to sources. Currently, there are two overseas campuses of IIT -- IIT Madras-Zanzibar in Tanzania and IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

The third campus is proposed to come up in Western Africa and will be hosted by the Federal Government Academy, Suleja. "We have received requests from multiple countries including Bhutan and Morocco for setting up of IIT's offshore campuses," a source said.

The central government had created a 17-member committee to facilitate the process of opening IIT campuses in foreign locations where students from different nations can study technical education.

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The committee, headed by IIT Council Standing Committee Chairperson Dr K Radhakrishnan, had submitted its recommendations in 2022.

IIT Madras had in 2023 announced the setting up of an offshore campus in Tanzania's Zanzibar with Preeti Aghalyam was appointed the director-in-charge, who also became the first woman IIT Director. The institute began functioning in November 2023 from a temporary campus.

IIT Delhi followed the league and signed a formal agreement with the UAE government to set up a campus in Abu Dhabi. Located in Khalifa City, the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus was inaugurated on September 2, 2024.