IIT to Establish Second International Campus in Abu Dhabi by 2024, Says Education Ministry

The IIT-Delhi is all set to establish a new international campus at Abu Dhabi in UAE by 2024. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced the signing of an agreement between the two governments to this effect on Saturday. This will be the second global campus of an Indian Institute of Technology.

Last week, IIT-Madras announced the launch of its campus at Zanzibar in Tanzania, the first global IIT campus from October. Also, IIT-Kharagpur is in talks with setting up its international campus at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. In an interview with News18 in January, IIT-Delhi director Prof Rangan Banerjee had said they will be coming up with a new campus in Abu Dhabi, and talks about setting it up had been ongoing since last year.

An agreement was signed between the ministry of education and Abu Dhabi’s department of education and knowledge (ADEK), as well as IIT-Delhi to establish its first campus. “…The signing of this MoU unfolds a new chapter in internationalisation of India’s education. An example of new India’s innovation and expertise, the IIT Delhi campus in UAE will be an edifice of India-UAE friendship,” said Pradhan, announcing the tie-up in a tweet. The IIT-Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi will set a brand new template for leveraging the power of knowledge for both mutual prosperity and global good, he added.

The signing took place in the presence of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreement was signed by Abu Dhabi’s undersecretary for education, Indian ambassador to UAE and IIT-Delhi director.

IIT-Abu Dhabi will be collaborating with key players in higher education in the UAE, including Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Khalifa University, New York University, Abu Dhabi, Technology Innovation Institute, and Hub71 to offer complimentary programmes, conduct cutting-edge research, and advance the local startup ecosystem, the statement read.

The new campus is expected to offer a host of bachelors, masters and PhD programmes. It is also likely to operate research centres related to sustainable energy and climate studies, as well as computing and data sciences. “It is expected to offer a diverse range of programmes covering energy and sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI), computer science and engineering, mathematics and computing and other disciplines of engineering, sciences, and humanities,” it stated.

IIT-Delhi is yet to announce the courses to be offered at its international campus. Meanwhile, IIT-Madras director Prof V Kamakoti had earlier this week said the IIT-Zanzibar campus, will initially begin with offering a BS in data science and AI as well as an MTech in the same discipline.

Setting up an IIT campus in the UAE was envisioned in the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the top leadership of the two countries in early 2022. In due course, IIT-Delhi was identified by the ministry of education to roll out this effort of strategic importance to the country.

The IIT at Abu Dhabi is envisioned to be a research-centric campus of IIT-Delhi. “Our new Abu Dhabi campus is a challenge and opportunity for us to ensure that our education and research makes a global impact,” said Banerjee.

IIT-Delhi has already initiated outreach programmes for school students from the UAE as part of its offerings for the academic ecosystem of the country. Short courses and executive programmes for the industry are expected to start soon, the director added.