Abu Dhabi: A high-level team of faculty members from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi is set to visit Abu Dhabi this month to move forward a joint vision of the two countries to establish an IIT campus in the UAE, according to WAM.
The team’s visit was finalised on the sidelines of a two-day event of all 23 IITs in India to commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence.
India’s Minister for Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan, spoke about future plans for IITs at the event. “Technology will drive the next phase of growth and development with information technology and communications technology among the front-runners. Our IITs should seize this opportunity,” he said.
The proposal to set up an IIT campus in the UAE was announced in principle on February 18 this year. Since then, the two sides have been on contact to work out the modalities of following up the proposal. The IIT in Delhi has small team stationed in Abu Dhabi map out implementation of the proposal, the two-day event here was briefed.
Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, told local media that overseas expansion of IITs has been put on the “fast track” and hopes to open the Abu Dhabi campus along with the ones in Malaysia and Tanzania within one year.
Only 20 per cent of students in the overseas IIT campuses will be Indians while the remaining seats will be set apart for local students, according to a recommendation by a committee of experts to the IIT Council Standing Committee.
The two-day event, called IInvenTiv ( IIT innovations), featured 75 projects by 23 IITs in India.
