According to Indian press reports, a committee set up by the Ministry of Education to examine the global expansion of IITs has recently submitted its draft report identifying six countries as prospective locations for the establishment of IIT offshore campuses: Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, UAE, and UK.

Selection criteria are said to include - level of interest and commitment, academic lineage, conducive ecosystem to attract quality faculty and students, regulatory provisions and potential benefits to enhance India’s branding.

The report was prepared in consultation with 26 Indian Missions abroad via virtual sessions between the committee and embassy officials, arranged by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Additional details reported in the press reports include:

1. Overseas IIT campuses will be set up under the “Indian International Institute of Technology” brand name with domestic IITs acting as mentors.
2. The campuses will be established for the primary purpose of building the image of India abroad, rather than for commerce reasons.
3. The campuses should cater primarily to the local student population, with the percentage of Indian students capped at 20 percent.
4. The offshore campus will follow the laws and regulations of the host country.

Six concrete proposals of cooperation were reportedly received by the Indian High Commission in the UK during consultations. These were from University of Birmingham, King’s College London, University of Exeter, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University College London.

The Indian Express quotes from the report that “substantial investment by the government of the host country or the Indian government” will be required for the project to succeed. And that a certain minimum commitment of area for the campus will be required from the local government.

British Council Comments

At this point, it is quite difficult to assess the significance of this development as the draft report is not publicly available and the British Council has not sourced a copy.  As noted through previous press reports, the proposal for IITs to expand abroad is not new. For instance, IIT Delhi is already in talks with the UAE Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, while IIT Madras is exploring campus options in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Tanzania.

At the same time, the IITs are among the elite institutions of India and their interest to partner with the UK is to be welcomed, particularly as this could create opportunities for staff and student exchanges between the two counties. Also, establishing under UK laws would allow the newly established institutes greater flexibility to evolve their own identity while drawing upon the strength of their parent institutions. 

Given that it is still quite speculative at this point, it is best interpreted as another signal of the growing momentum towards education cooperation between the two countries and underscores the potential to expand on existing collaborative partnerships between IITs and UK HEIs.  The British Council India will continue to monitor developments and keep the UK sector updated.

For any questions, please contact Sandeepa Sahay

Further Read

British Council earlier post on 22 February 2022: https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/indian-go...

https://indianexpress.com/article/education/uk-gulf-countries-and-egypt-among-7-locations-on-iit-expansion-list-8102363/#:~:text=A%20committee%20set%20up%20by,brand%20name%2C%20The%20Sunday%20Express

https://www.allenoverseas.com/blog/iits-and-top-indian-institutes-to-open-campuses-outside-india/

https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/admissions/govt-panel-lays-down-action-plan-for-campuses-abroad-101661133835316.html

https://hindustannewshub.com/india-news/now-iits-sting-will-ring-abroad-too-campuses-will-open-in-these-countries-soon/