In Photos: IIT Madras Sets Up Its First International Campus in Zanzibar, Africa

The campus is located in Bweleo district, a short distance from Zanzibar Town.

(IIT Madras) has become the first Indian Institute of Technology to set up an international campus.

(Photo Courtesy: X/@IITMZanzibar)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras set up its first international campus in Zanzibar, Africa, on Monday, 6 November.

The campus was inaugurated by Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, president of Zanzibar, in a ceremony also attended by Tanzanian and Indian officials as well as academics.

The courses offered at IIT-M Zanzibar are open to students of all nationalities,  including Indians.

The inaugural batch comprised students from Zanzibar, mainland, Tanzania, Nepal, and India. Of the students in the first batch, 40 percent are women. The first batch of 35 undergraduate and 15 postgraduate students have started classes. 

According to reports, the Zanzibar government had committed around ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 crore and 232 acres of sea-facing land to set up a campus. The permanent campus will be built by the governments of Zanzibar and India. 

The IIT Madras Zanzibar campus is offering Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master Of Technology (MTech) programmes, with a focus on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The campus features fully furnished offices,  state-of-the-art classrooms, an impressive auditorium, dining facilities, a dispensary, and planned sports facilities.