UAE students get global launchpad as IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi opens new incubation centre

Abu Dhabi: India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday inaugurated the first Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) outside India at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus, creating new opportunities for UAE students to innovate and launch start-ups.

On his second visit to the UAE-based campus, Pradhan said he was delighted to see the institute evolve “from a concept to a full-fledged campus” and praised its role as a lighthouse of India–UAE knowledge partnership.

The AIC model in India is a government-supported innovation hub that provides mentorship, funding, and world-class facilities to help start-ups and student innovators turn ideas into scalable businesses.

Pradhan said the new AIC in Abu Dhabi will nurture joint start-ups and research-led ventures by both Indian and UAE innovators and promote bilateral collaboration in deep tech, AI, clean energy, healthcare, and other sectors of mutual importance.

The AIC, providing world-class incubation facilities, will also act as a gateway to Middle East markets for Indian start-ups and innovators, he added.

Alongside the AIC launch, the minister also unveiled B.Tech and PhD programmes in Chemical Engineering and Energy & Sustainability. Congratulating students for choosing the first overseas campus of India’s premier educational institution, IIT, the minister said he was confident they would “create new milestones for global prosperity and well-being.”

The minister, who is on a two-day official visit to the UAE, toured classrooms, laboratories, and other facilities, interacting with students from India, the UAE, and other countries. He said the multicultural mix and the “home away from home” experience enrich academic life at the campus.

Pradhan also viewed a presentation on future academic plans and appreciated IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi’s focus on industry-relevant engineering education and immersive learning.