India to Establish First IIT Campus in Tanzania, Strengthening Educational Cooperation

India is now set to establish its inaugural Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus outside its borders in Tanzania, in accordance with India’s National Education Policy 2020. This ground-breaking move aims to bolster educational collaboration between the two nations and foster stronger diplomatic relationships. During his visit to the African nation, India’s external affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, signed an agreement with Tanzanian educational authorities, paving the way for the establishment of the IIT campus in Zanzibar.

In recent years, education cooperation has emerged as a crucial element of India’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on setting up Indian university campuses abroad and promoting student mobility. This initiative aligns perfectly with the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020, which advocates for the establishment of overseas campuses by high-performing Indian universities.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the IIT-Madras campus in Zanzibar was signed between India’s education ministry and Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and vocational training. The ceremony witnessed the presence of Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi and Minister Jaishankar. Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, is an archipelago situated off the coast of East Africa.

According to the Union education ministry, the IIT campus in Zanzibar will commence its programs in October. Admission criteria will be determined by IIT-Madras, and degrees will be conferred by the institute. The offshore campus’s pedagogical strategies will be planned by IIT-Madras. This landmark step towards internationalizing Indian education has been hailed by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as an embodiment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation and forging closer people-to-people ties with Africa.

In 2021, the Indian government formed a committee headed by K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the standing committee of the IIT Council, to outline a framework for establishing foreign campuses. The committee strongly advocated for IITs to take the lead in this endeavor.

The offshore campus in Zanzibar symbolizes the longstanding friendship between India and Tanzania and highlights India’s focus on fostering people-to-people ties across Africa and the Global South, as stated by the external affairs ministry. The partnership formalized by the agreement provides a comprehensive framework for the establishment of the campus.

IIT-Madras will shape the academic programs, curricula, student selection processes, and pedagogical details, while the government of Zanzibar-Tanzania will cover the capital and operating expenditures. Students enrolled at the campus will be awarded degrees by IIT-Madras. These interdisciplinary degrees are expected to attract a diverse cohort, including students from Africa and other countries. Additionally, Indian students will also have the opportunity to apply for these programs.

The establishment of the IIT campus in Zanzibar is poised to enhance India’s reputation, diplomatic relationships, and the international standing of IIT-Madras. The campus’s international diversity of students and faculty is expected to enrich the quality of education and research, fostering deeper collaborations with other globally esteemed academic institutions.

This world-class institution in Zanzibar aims to develop competencies in response to emerging global requirements, strengthen ties between nations, and support research and innovation in the region. Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Tanzania will further reinforce the strong bilateral relations between India and Tanzania, encompassing key meetings, project visits, and engagements with top leaders, culminating in the inauguration of the Swami Vivekananda bust in Dar-es-Salaam.