IIT’s third offshore campus likely to be set up in Sri Lanka

In November 2023, IIT Madras had opened its first offshore campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, with Preeti Aghalyam as the director. Now, reports suggest that there are plans for a third overseas campus in Sri Lanka. This proposal was introduced during the 2024 Budget presentation by Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe. According to reports, discussions between the Sri Lankan government and IIT Madras are underway, and the campus is expected to be established in Kandy.

“A high-level delegation recently visited the Chennai campus to discuss the future roadmap. The talks are ongoing, and the campus will likely be established in Kandy,” said a source quoted by PTI.

This year, IIT Delhi is also opening a campus in Abu Dhabi as part of the ‘IITs go Global’ campaign, focusing on collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation in education.

Meanwhile, IIT Madras Zanzibar has called for applications for its second batch of students for the academic year 2024-25. The institute is accepting applications for two programmes - BS in Data Science and AI & MTech in Data Science and AI.

The UK has also expressed interest in hosting an offshore campus of an IIT, and discussions are already underway with some UK universities exploring this possibility.