The first-ever international campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) opened. The inauguration of the campus was done by the President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council Hussein Ali Mwinyi. The campus has also started its first semester with students from different countries including Zanzibar, India, Nepal, and Tanzania Mainland, admitted to the BS and MTech programs in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. According to Indian Institute of Technology Madras Director V Kamakoti, at least 50 per cent of the students in the first batch are Indians while 40 per cent of the admitted students are women.
According to Kamakoti, 45 students have been selected for admission to the two-year Master of Technology program and the four-year Bachelor of Science program in data science and artificial intelligence. This historic initiative has been taken to take the top-quality education system of India to international arenas. All nationalities of students, including Indians, are eligible to take admission to IIT-M Zanzibar.
he existing campus in Bweleo district, located approximately 15 km south of Zanzibar has international amenities designed to meet the current needs of students. The announcement further stated that the governments of India and Zanzibar will soon work together to construct a permanent campus. This institute will offer BS and MTech programmes, in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, initially, and more programmes will be offered in the coming years.
The campus was inaugurated in the presence of Professor Adolf F M Kenda, Minister of Education Science and Technology, United Republic of Tanzania, Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, India High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania, Lela Mohamed Mussa, Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Zanzibar, Professor M S Ananth and Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, former directors of IIT-M, and Professor Preeti Aghalayam, Dean of School of Engineering and Science and Director-in-charge IIT-M Zanzibar campus.
