New Delhi: In what is yet another manifestation of India’s soft power diplomacy, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) will open its first international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania. An agreement to this effect was signed during Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar’s ongoing visit to Tanzania.
“This campus is reflective of the longstanding friendship between India and Tanzania and a reminder of the focus India places on building people to people ties across Africa and the Global South,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement while announcing the signing of the agreement.
“National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on Internationalization and recommends that ‘high performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries'.” The proposed campus of IIT-M in Zanzibar, Tanzania, plans to launch programs in October this year.
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Open for African Nations-“This is a major manifestation of India’s soft power diplomacy,” Rajiv Bhatia, former Indian Ambassador to Kenya, Lesotho and South Africa and Distinguished Fellow at the Gateway House Indian Council for Foreign Relations, told ETV Bharat. “This campus is not only for students of Tanzania. It will also be open to students from neighbouring countries of East Africa and to Indian students interested in studying abroad.”
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Many thanks, hon’ble @EduMinOfIndia, @dpradhanbjp ji, for supporting @iitmadras to be a part of the historic endeavour of setting up its 1st international campus in Tanzania & fulfilling hon'ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi ji’s vision of internationalisation of Indian education. https://t.co/zxVOL07q4K
— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) July 6, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Many thanks, hon’ble @EduMinOfIndia, @dpradhanbjp ji, for supporting @iitmadras to be a part of the historic endeavour of setting up its 1st international campus in Tanzania & fulfilling hon'ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi ji’s vision of internationalisation of Indian education. https://t.co/zxVOL07q4K
— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) July 6, 2023Many thanks, hon’ble @EduMinOfIndia, @dpradhanbjp ji, for supporting @iitmadras to be a part of the historic endeavour of setting up its 1st international campus in Tanzania & fulfilling hon'ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi ji’s vision of internationalisation of Indian education. https://t.co/zxVOL07q4K
— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) July 6, 2023
Soft Diplomacy-Bhatia said that the new campus will boost cooperation in higher education, vocational training, research and innovation. Usually, Indian arts, culture, yoga and spiritualism, culinary varieties, festivals, music and dance forms are seen as the various facets of India’s soft power diplomacy. But education too has now become a major pillar of this.
“I wouldn’t agree to the formulation that only yoga, Bollywood and dance comprise India’s soft power diplomacy,” Bhatia said. “The ITEC program is one powerful bond.” The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program (ITEC) is the leading capacity building platform of the Ministry Of External Affairs. Instituted in 1964, ITEC is one of the oldest institutionalized arrangements for international capacity building having trained more than 200,000 officials from over 160 countries in both the civilian and in the defence sector.
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NEP drives Indian institutes abroad-Bhatia also pointed out that the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) too offers scholarships to foreign students coming to India for higher education. The opening of the IIT-M campus is also in accord with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, according to the former Ambassador. “This policy impels the government to encourage Indian institutes to open campuses abroad,” he said.
Why Tanzania? “Our government also encourages foreign institutions to establish campuses in India.” Bhatia also said that Tanzania should be seen as a regional hub as it serves as the headquarters of the East African Community (EAC). The EAC is an intergovernmental organisation comprising seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa – the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.
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Set to become Africa's premier institute-According to the statement of the External Affairs Ministry, the new partnership will bring the top-ranked educational expertise of IIT-M to a prime destination in Africa and serve the imperative current needs of the region. The academic programs, curricula, student selection aspects and pedagogical details will be by IIT-M, whereas the capital and operating expenditure will be met by the government of Zanzibar-Tanzania.
