Preeti Aghalayam makes history as first woman to lead an IIT

In 1991, Preeti Aghalayam walked into IIT Madras as a young chemical engineering student, beginning a journey that would eventually take her far beyond the institute’s Chennai campus.

More than three decades later, she returned to the institution in a role few could have imagined at the time — as the academic leader of its first international campus and the first woman to lead an IIT.

Aghalayam was appointed director-in-charge of IIT Madras Zanzibar in July 2023, marking a significant milestone in the history of India’s premier engineering institutions. The campus, located in Tanzania, opened its doors to students later that year.

Her journey, however, had begun much earlier.

A childhood shaped by science and education

Aghalayam grew up in a family where education and scientific curiosity were part of everyday life. Her father was a chemistry professor, and discussions around science at home helped nurture her interest in the subject.

Her mother also became an example of perseverance. While Aghalayam was in high school, she watched her mother pursue a PhD while managing other responsibilities.

Those experiences gave Aghalayam an early understanding of academic life and the discipline it demands.

She joined IIT Madras in 1991 to study chemical engineering and graduated in 1995. She then moved to the United States for higher studies, earning a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester in 1995 and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000.

Her academic journey also took her to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she returned to India to pursue a career in teaching and research.

From student to professor

Aghalayam began her faculty career at IIT Bombay before joining IIT Madras in 2010.

Over the years, she built an academic career around chemical engineering, teaching students while pursuing research in areas including underground coal gasification, automotive nitrogen oxide emission reduction, reactor modelling and reduction of large reaction mechanisms.

Her work has also earned recognition from professional and scientific institutions, including the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Her association with IIT Madras thus came full circle — from sitting in its classrooms as a student to standing before students as a professor.

But another, very different chapter was still to come.

Leading IIT Madras beyond India

In July 2023, Aghalayam was appointed director-in-charge of IIT Madras Zanzibar, the institute’s first international campus in Tanzania.

The appointment made her the first woman to lead an IIT.

The assignment also presented a challenge unlike her earlier academic roles. Rather than joining an established campus, Aghalayam was part of building a new institution from the ground up, including its academic programmes, student community and international identity.

IIT Madras Zanzibar began classes in October 2023. Its first cohort brought together students from Zanzibar, mainland Tanzania, India and Nepal, giving the new campus an international character from the outset.

The initial programmes included courses in areas such as Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

For Aghalayam, the role brought together several strands of her career — engineering, research, teaching and academic leadership — while placing her at the centre of IIT Madras’ effort to establish a presence outside India.

A journey that came full circle

Aghalayam now serves as Dean of the Office of Global Engagement at IIT Madras and remains associated with IIT Madras Zanzibar as a former director-in-charge and faculty member.

Her career has crossed continents and roles: from an engineering student in Chennai to higher education and research in the United States, from faculty positions at leading Indian institutions to heading a new IIT campus in Tanzania.

What began in 1991 as an engineering degree at IIT Madras eventually became a leadership journey that took the institute itself beyond Indian shores.

For Aghalayam, the path from student to professor and finally to IIT leader reflects not just a personal career milestone, but a decades-long association with the institution where her journey began.