Bhutan and Morocco Seek India’s Nod for Offshore IIT Campuses

Bhutan and Morocco have approached the Union government to explore the establishment of offshore campuses of India’s premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), signalling growing global interest in India’s higher education ecosystem. At present, IITs operate two overseas campuses—IIT Madras in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sources indicated that multiple countries have expressed interest in hosting IIT campuses, with Bhutan and Morocco among the latest to formally reach out. A third overseas IIT campus is also proposed in West Africa, to be hosted by the Federal Government Academy in Suleja.

To streamline the expansion of IITs abroad, the central government had constituted a 17-member committee, chaired by IIT Council Standing Committee Chairperson Dr K Radhakrishnan. The committee submitted its recommendations in 2022, laying the groundwork for international campuses.

IIT Madras became the first IIT to set up an overseas campus in 2023, launching operations in Zanzibar under Director-in-Charge Preeti Aghalyam, who also made history as the first woman Director of an IIT. The campus began functioning from a temporary facility in November 2023.

Following this, IIT Delhi signed an agreement with the UAE government to establish a campus in Abu Dhabi. Located in Khalifa City, the IIT Delhi–Abu Dhabi campus was officially inaugurated on September 2, 2024.

Expanding India’s global academic footprint further, IIM Ahmedabad has also recently inaugurated its first international campus at Dubai International Academic City.

Source: PTI