Setting sights on intl students, IITs, IIMs make plans for foreign campuses

IIT Madras is in active discussions to set up a campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and IIM Nagpur is planning to set up a campus in Singapore

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India's top engineering and management colleges, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), are eyeing the enrolment of international students.

Some of these colleges, such as IIM Nagpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Madras, are planning to set up campuses abroad, while others are looking to increase the number of programme offerings — both online and offline — through local partners in the host country according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 encourages high-performing Indian institutes to set up campuses in other countries.

Officials said that a global campus would help colleges build a global brand, attract foreign faculty, and bring diversity in education and research.

IIT Madras is in active discussions to set up a campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, according to Preeti Aghalayam, its advisor (Office of Global Engagement). This campus is expected to be operational by the second half of 2023 and is planning to offer full-time undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in data science and artificial intelligence (AI), according to the ET report.

"The plan is meant as a partnership/collaboration between the two governments and IIT Madras. The college will bring expertise in institution building, teaching and research excellence," said Aghalayam.

Bhimaraya Metri, director of IIM Nagpur, said, "NEP 2020 encourages Indian colleges to take brand India abroad, and most leading institutes are working towards the same. The entrance to foreign campuses is likely to be based on the law of the land of that country."

She added that IIM Nagpur is planning to set up a campus in Singapore by 2025.

Most IITs and IIMs are offering courses to foreign students either along with collaboration with local partners in the host country or through online mode.

Himanshu Rai, director of IIM Indore, said that IIM Indore is open to setting up a campus abroad, seeing a huge global response but has not chalked out any immediate plans.

With an established presence in terms of course offerings in foreign lands, the next step for most of the institutes is to set up campuses abroad, said a director of an IIM, who did not wish to be named.