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

The International Institute of Technology – Delhi is preparing to establish a new international campus in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates by 2024. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday announced the signing of an agreement between the two governments for this purpose. This will be the second global campus for an Indian Institute of Technology.

Last week, IIT-Madras announced the launch of its Zanzibar campus in Tanzania, IIT’s first global campus from October. Also, IIT-Kharagpur is in talks with establishing an international campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In an interview with News 18 In January, Director of the International Institute of Technology Delhi Professor Ranjan Banerjee said that they are going to devise a new campus in Abu Dhabi, and that talks about its creation have been going on since last year.

An agreement has been signed between the Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), as well as IIT-Delhi to establish its first university campus. “…the signing of this MOU opens a new page in the internationalization of education in India. Announcing the partnership in a tweet, Pradhan said, “The IIT Delhi campus in the UAE will be an example of India’s new innovations and expertise, it will be an edifice of friendship between India and the UAE . He added that a new paradigm for leveraging the power of knowledge for mutual prosperity and global good.

The signing took place in the presence of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreement was signed by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education in Abu Dhabi, the Ambassador of India to the UAE and the Director of the International Institute of Technology in Delhi.

IIT-Abu Dhabi will collaborate with key players in higher education in the UAE, including Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Khalifa University, New York University, Abu Dhabi, Institute of Technological Innovation, and Hub71 to offer free programs, and conduct cutting-edge research. Edge, and push the local start-up ecosystem, the statement said.

The new campus is expected to offer a range of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes. It is also likely to run research centers related to sustainable energy and climate studies, as well as computing and data sciences. “It is expected to offer a variety of programs covering energy and sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI), computer science and engineering, mathematics and computing and other engineering, science and humanities disciplines.”

IIT-Delhi is yet to announce which courses will be offered at its International Campus. Meanwhile, the IIT-Madras Campus, Professor V Kamakoti, said earlier this week that the IIT-Zanzibar Campus will initially offer a Bachelor’s degree in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence as well as an MTech in the same discipline.

The establishment of the 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 launch this effort of strategic importance to the country.

IIT Abu Dhabi is envisioned as a research-focused campus of IIT-Delhi. “Our new Abu Dhabi campus is both a challenge and an opportunity for us to ensure that our education and research have a global impact,” said Banerjee.

IIT-Delhi has already started outreach programs for school students from the UAE as part of its offering to the academic ecosystem in the country. The director added that short courses and executive programs for the industry are expected to start soon.