India signs MoU with UAE to set up IIT campus in Abu Dhabi

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) and the Ministry of Education in India to set up its international campus in Abu Dhabi. The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, according to a release issued by IIT Delhi. Earlier ET reported that IIT Madras was kicking off the recruitment process for faculty for its campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, where classes for the first batch are expected to start this October.

Setting up of an IIT campus in the UAE was part of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the top leadership of the two countries in early 2022. Following which IIT Delhi was identified to set up the campus.

IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi will be a research centric campus of IIT Delhi and will offer degrees at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level, and will contribute to the research and academic eco-system of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Degrees are to be offered starting 2024, details of which will be presented in due course, according to the release.


IIT Delhi - Abu Dhabi will offer programmes covering Energy and Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science and Engineering, Healthcare, Mathematics and Computing and other disciplines of engineering, sciencesand humanities. IIT Delhi has already initiated outreach programmes for school students from the UAE. Short courses and executive programmes for the industry are expected to start soon.

“Our new Abu Dhabi campus is a challenge and opportunity for us to ensure that our education and research makes a global impact,” Rangan Banerjee, director, IIT Delhi said.