# To Zanzibar, With love

**Source**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/to-zanzibar/index.html
**Parent**: https://ge.iitm.ac.in/rendezvous/to-zanzibar/

Six
decades
after
its
establishment,
the
Indian
Institute
of
Technology
Madras
now has
a campus
coming
up in
Zanzibar,
Tanzania,
reflecting
the
longstanding
friendship
between
India
and
Tanzania.
The
IIT-M
Zanzibar
is the
first
significant
step
towards
the
expansion
of IITs
beyond
Indian
borders,
fostering
an
educational
collaboration.
Ahead of
its
launch,
we meet
the core
team of
the
Zanzibar
project
to
discuss
the
vision
of the
institution,
its
programs,
and what
the
future
holds

**Srivatsan
S**

On July
6, 2023,
barely a
few
weeks
before
marking
the
momentous
occasion
of the
60th
Convocation
Day, the
Indian
Institute
of
Technology
Madras
was
etched
in the
annals

of
history
for an
entirely
different
reason.
For,
nearly
six
decades
later,
the
revered
institution,
which
has
consistently
been the
top
ranked
IIT in
the
country,
became
the
first
among
IITs to
sign a
Memorandum
of
Understanding
(MoU)
between
the
Ministry
of
Education
(MOE),
India,
IIT
Madras,
and
Ministry
of
Education
and
Vocational
Training,
Zanzibar
(MoEVT).

The
Ministry
of
External
Affairs
(MEA)
announced
that
Tanzania’s
Zanzibar
will be
home to
the
first-ever
Indian
Institute
of
Technology
(IIT)
campus
outside
of
India.
Sharing
hisexcitement
on X
(formerly
Twitter),
India’s
External
Affairs
Minister
Dr. S
Jaishankar
wrote,
“Witnessed
the
signing
of the
agreement
on
setting
up of
IIT
Madras
Zanzibar
campus.
Appreciate
President
Dr
Hussein
Ali
Mwinyi
gracing
the
occasion,
as also
the
presence
of his
Ministers.
This
historic
step
reflects
India’s
commitment
to the
global
South.”

The
agreement
was
signed
amid
distinguished
dignitaries
from
both
India
and
Tanzania
including
External
Affairs
Minister
S
Jaishankar
and
Zanzibar’s
President
Hussein
Ali
Mwinyi.
Quietly
seated
among
them
were two
IIT-M
alumni
who were
instrumental
in
setting
the
balls
rolling
for the
Zanzibar
project.

One was
Raghunathan
Rengaswamy,
Dean,
Office
of
Global
Engagement,
IIT-M.
The
other
was
Preeti
Aghalayam,
who, on
her
part,
made
history
by
becoming
the
first
woman
Director
of an
IIT
campus.
It was a
moment
that
could
have
been a
flash.
But
Raghunathan
clearly
remembers
the
headspace
he was
in, when
he held
the MoU
in front
of
Zanzibar’s
President
and
posed
for the
picture.
“It was
a
historic
moment
for
sure.
But the
other
thing
that was
running
in my
mind was
the kind
of
responsibility
the team
has,”
says

Raghunathan,
seated
in his
office
at the
Sudha
and
Shankar
Innovation
Hub, IIT
Madras.

Raghunathan
Rengaswamy
was
appointed
as Dean
of
Global
Engagement,
which
facilitates
every
international
collaboration-relation
within
the
institution,
ever
since it
was
established
in
February
2020.

While
the
conversation
around
an IIT
Madras
campus
outside
India
came
much
later,
says
Raghunathan,
the idea
– of an
IIT
outside
India –
has been
floating
around
for
quite
some
time.

One way
was to
go
completely
online.
For
instance,
when
someone
takes an
online
M.Tech
course
from
anywhere
in the
world
and has
enough
credits,
they get
a degree
from IIT
Madras.
But it
required
the
approval
of the
senate.
“We have
had many
user-oriented
programs
for
industries
but not
a
complete
online
program.
This was
the
initial
idea to
take IIT
outside
India
and we
were
going
through
the
process
of
getting
it
approved
in the
senate,”
says
Raghu.

Everything
was set.
The Tata
Consultancy
Services
(TCS)
was
reportedly
interested
in
facilitating
the
technical
process
for an
online
only
program.
“I don’t
remember
his name
but one
of them
[from
TCS]
talked
about
the
difficulty
of
remote
programs;
the fact
that
students
will be
attending
classes
from
random
places.
He
suggested
that we
should
tie-up
with a
college
and run
our
program
through
them, so
that we
have
students
coming
to the
class
even if
remotely.”
This,
apparently,
was a
working
model
for
several
international
universities.

Raghunathan
saw the
potential.
Unlike a
satellite
or
offshore
campus,
the idea
was to
establish
a
partnership
with
universities
that
will
solicit
applications
for IIT
degrees.
“In
doing
so, we
get
students
from
their
campuses
and at
the same
time, we
wouldn’t
dilute
the IIT
Madras
quality
of
education,”
says
Raghu.

After
several
brainstorming
sessions
and
multiple
site
visits,
Raghu
and
Preeti
came
close to
executing
this
model in
Sri
Lanka,
while in
Nepal,
they
were
trying
to work
out the
other
model,
which
was to
set up
an
offshore
campus.
Both
proposals
fell
through.
They
were
back to
square
one.
Then
came
hope
disguised
in the
form of
a mail
from the
MoEVT,
Zanzibar,
Tanzania
to set
up an
offshore
campus.

**‘An
opportunity
and
a
challenge’**

For IIT
Madras’
Director
V
Kamakoti,
it was a
question
of need more
than
anything
else.
“There
should
be a
genuine
need for
IIT-M to
be fully
involved
for the
institution’s
growth.
But the
need
alone
isn’t
sufficient
without
the
government’s
support.
And then
without
a good
higher
education
school
system
in the
country,
it would
be
meaningless.
Otherwise,
we would
become a
training
institution
rather
than a
School
of
Excellence,”
says
Prof.
Kamakoti,
adding
that
Tanzania-Zanzibar
met
these
three
parameters.

The
Indian
National
Education
Policy
(NEP)
2020
recommends
that
“high
performing
Indian
universities
will be
encouraged
to set
up
campuses
in other
countries”.
It aims
to find
ways for
“transformational
reforms
in
school
and
higher
education
system
to make
India a
‘Vishwa
Guru’.”

During
NEP
2020,
Kamakoti
made a
presentation
to the
Minister
of
Education
Dharmendra
Pradhan,
who, in
fact,
suggested
Tanzania.
“Our
wonderful
Minister
Pradhan-ji,
given
his
knowledge
in the
petroleum
industry,
has a
good
understanding
about
Africa.
When he
mentioned
Tanzania,
I didn’t
know
where it
was,”
laughs
Kamakoti.

Director
Kamakoti
was
unsure
whether
the
Government
of
Tanzania-Zanzibar
would
show as
much
interest.
But the
Government
took
proactive
steps
and
within a
span of
weeks,
the
entire
contingent
from
Tanzania
arrived
at
IIT-M.
“From
then on,
things
moved at
an
astronomical
pace
with our
energetic
Binaya
Pradhan-ji
[High
Commissioner
of
India,
Tanzania]
involved,”
he adds.

It still
wasn’t
clear
whether
it was
going to
be an
International
Institute
of
Technology,
Tanzania,
hand-held
by IIT
Madras,
or an
entire
offshore
campus.
This was
when
Raghunathan
Rengaswamy
led the
delegation
to
Tanzania-Zanzibar
along
with
Prof.
Preeti
Aghalayam,
Prof.
Ligy
Philip,
Prof. A
Mani,
and
Director
of IIT
Tirupati,
Prof. KN
Satyanarayana.

When the
team
arrived
in
Zanzibar,
all
their
doubts
and
uncertainty
were
addressed.
The
Minister
of
Education,
Science,
and
Technology,
Tanzania,
Adolf
Mkenda,
made it
quite
clear
that
they
want an
IIT
Madras
Zanzibar
institution
and not
a campus
hand-held
by
IIT-M.

Raghunathan
says the
delegation
was
given
the
freedom
to do
“whatever
we
wanted”.
“But at
the same
time, we
didn’t
want to
promise
anything
that the
Government
of India
would
later
say ‘no’
to.
Having
said
that,
there
was
support
all the
time
[from
both
Governments]
and we
could
always
circle
back.”

For
Preeti
Aghalayam,
Director-in-charge,
IIT
Madras
Zanzibar,
it was
about
finding
an
ideological
match.
She
throws
caution
that the
new
campus
wouldn’t
mimic
IIT-M in
any way.
“There
are
foundational
strengths
of IIT-M
we will
retain,”
she
says,
adding,
“We want
to
encourage
homegrown
talent
and be
sensitive
towards
people —
whether
it is
faculty,
students
or
parents.”

She sees
the
Zanzibar
campus
“as an
opportunity
and a
challenge”
to
protect
the
foundational
principles
of
IIT-M.

**What
the
future
holds**

The IIT
Madras
Zanzibar
offers
two
programs:
a
four-year
Bachelor
of
Science
in Data
Science
and AI,
and a
two-year
Master
of
Technology
in Data
Science
and AI.

Why Data
Science?
“We had
a push
from
MoEVT
Zanzibar
for a
computer
literacy
or
computer
heavy
program.
Of
course
IIT
Madras
has a
very
strong
Data
Science
program
and
globally
many
universities
are
moving
towards
Data
Science
and AI,”
says
Raghu,
adding
that the
programs
were
mutually
decided.

The new
campus
has an
Advisory
Council
chaired
by
Raghunathan
Rengaswamy,
while
the rest
include
distinguished
names:
Prof.
Robin
Mason,
Pro-Vice
Chancellor
(International),
University
of
Birmingham,
Prof.
Leonard
Wantchekon,
Founder
and
President,
African
School
of
Economics,
Professor
of
Politics
and
International
Affairs,
Princeton
University,
Dr.
Mridula
Nair,
Research
Fellow,
Distinguished
Inventor,
Distinguished
Alumna
of
IIT-M,
Eastman
Kodak
Company,
USA, and
Dr.
Pramath
Raj
Sinha,
Founder
and
Chairman,
Harappa
Education.

There is
a
Program
Advisory
Committee
comprising
Prof.
Sharat
Chandran,
IIT
Bombay,
Prof. C
Pandurangan,
IISc
Bangalore
and
Prof.
Mark
Lee,
University
of
Birmingham.

“We
picked
international
people
that we
know
will
contribute
or have
done
similar
things
in the
past. We
wrote to
them and
almost
everyone
wrote
back
immediately
with a
‘yes’.
The
notion
of a
program
advisory
committee
is to
take
care of
the
execution
part,
while
the
advisory
council
will
look at
the
institute
from a
broader,
global
context,
because
we want
this
institute
to be
internationally
recognised,”
he adds.

One of
the
things
we keep
hearing
about
IIT-M is
campus
placements.
Are
there
any
measures
being
taken
for
campus
placements
at the
Zanzibar
campus?Raghunathan
has no
second
thoughts
about
placements,
given
that the
first
batch of
students
to get
their
degrees
will be
in 2025,
while
the BS
students
will
graduate
in 2027.

“What we
are
trying
to do
with our
teaching
is to
integrate
a
project
with a
company,
followed
by a
longer
project.
That is
how we
are
going to
look at
placements.
Plus,
Zanzibar
and
African
regions
are
growing.
Those
companies
need
manpower
and what
better
than
local
talent?”

For a
relatively
new and
younger
cousin
in IIT-M
Zanzibar,
KN
Satyanarayana
foresees
the key
challenge
— at
least
for the
next few
years —
to be
the
campus
culture.

“It is
important
to set
the
culture
right
for the
campus
and that
is not
happening
anytime
soon.
Setting
up a
culture
takes a
long
time,”
he says,
adding
that,
because
it is a
new
campus
and
there is
a lot of
work to
be done
that
might
get
overwhelming
at
times,
it is
always
safe to
determine
the
larger
goal of
the
institution
for the
next 10
years.

As far
as the
future
is
concerned,
Raghunathan
has the
last
word.
“It’s
going to
be a
trade-off,”
he says.
The
challenges
at the
Zanzibar
campus
seem to
arise
out of a
chicken
and egg
problem:
without
generous
funds
for
tuition,
it is
difficult
to
generate
reputation,
and
without
a great
reputation,
it is
difficult
to
generate
funds.

“IIT
Madras
has a
great
reputation,
for
instance,
but that
is not
going to
transfer
lock,
stock
and
barrel
to the
Zanzibar
campus,”
says
Raghu.

Naturally,
the
campus
has to
develop
a
reputation
by
itself
through
merit,
which
would
take a
couple
of years
easily.
So, how
does one
accelerate
to
achieve
it? “I
think we
have to
be
technologically
visible
in
Zanzibar
and
Tanzania,”
he says,
“As an
institute,
we
should
not just
be
educating
students
but
bring
about a
technological
change
in the
country.
If that
happens,
everything
will
fall
into
place.”

**Q&A**

**When
you
got
a
call
from
IIT
Madras
about
a
possible
international
campus
in
Zanzibar,
how
did
you
react?**

Basically,
they
wanted
my
guidance
because
we
established
the IIT
Tirupati
campus.
I was a
little
sceptical
initially
because
I wasn’t
sure
whether
IIT-M is
going to
be fully
involved
[like in
the case
of IIT
Madras,
where
Germany
played a
major
role in
setting
up the
institution
in the
‘50s and
60s] or
going to
assist
them.
But
later
when I
visited
Zanzibar
along
with
Raghu
and
Preeti,
and the
kind of
warm
reception
we got
from the
Ministry
of
Education
and
Vocational
Training,
I was
convinced.

**What
were
your
initial
impressions
of
Zanzibar
from
your
visit?
Did
you
have
any
suggestions
from
your
side?**

Zanzibar,
I feel,
is a
strategic
location
for us
to set
up the
campus.
With
tourism
and a
blue
economy
thriving
there,
Zanzibar
is a
central
location
in
Tanzania.
One of
the
briefs I
gave
them
was, if
you are
going to
set up a
campus
like IIT
Madras,
you need
at least
500
acres of
land. Or
at least
300-400
acres.
But
eventually,
I think
they are
getting
more
than 200
acres
for the
permanent
campus.

**As
the
Director
of
IIT
Tirupati,
what
are
the
ways
in
which
you
can
work
with
the
Zanzibar
campus?**

Having
worked
at IIT
Madras
as a
faculty,
I have
established
some
strong
connections
with the
mother
institution
and
Zanzibar
campus
too. I
think
research
is one
area
where
IIT
Tirupati
can
collaborate
and work
with
them in
the
future.

**Prof.
KN
Satyanarayana**

**From
the
horse’s
mouth**

**What
was
the
first
thought
that
crossed
your
mind
when
you
heard
about
this
idea
from
the
Ministry
of
Education
to
set
up a
campus
outside
India?**

First
and
foremost,
how did
IIT
Madras
come up?
Back
then,
there
was a
need to
establish
a highly
technical
institution
in the
country.
Germany
offered
us the
help so
they
came to
India
and set
up
IIT-M.
In fact,
we had a
lot of
German
professors
as late
as the
late
‘80s who
have
contributed
to the
growth
of this
particular
institution.

Today,
some of
the best
practices
we see
at IIT-M
have the
German
legacy,
which
also
reflects
how
closely
we work
with
them
even
today.
We have
visitors
from
Germany
almost
every
week; it
is a
long
standing
relationship
we have
with
them.
These
thoughts
came up
the
moment
we
talked
about
Vishwa
Guru
during
the
National
Education
Policy
[NEP]
2020.
The
Indo-German
relationship
that we
enjoy at
IIT-M,
we
wanted
to have
that
with
some
other
country.

Recently
we had
our 60th
convocation
and the
time has
come for
us. This
was my
initial
thought.

**As
the
Director
of
IIT
Madras,
what
do
you
think
would
be
the
ideal
short
and
long
term
goals
for
the
Zanzibar
campus?**

Short
term for
me is
five
years. I
want to
get at
least
three
undergraduate
and two
postgraduate
or two
undergraduate
and
three
postgraduate
programs
that
would be
of
relevance
to East
Africa.
Like our
next
next
generation
IITs, I
would
like to
see if
we can
have
five
programs
running
in the
institution.
This is
one.

A lot of
Tanzanians
are
coming
to IIT-M
for
their
PhDs. So
we want
to
generate
local
manpower
who can
become
great
teachers.
We have
been
recruiting
faculty
and I
didn’t
expect
five
excellent
resumes
to come
in short
notice.
A lot of
our own
faculty
members
are also
going to
contribute
so the
institute,
as a
whole,
will be
excellent.

My gut
feeling
is that
we
should
start
admitting
250
students
every
year. So
that
will be
125 in
UG and
125 in
PG. We
should
at least
have a
thousand
students
for some
10 years
and see
how
everything
turns
out. We
are now
looking
at
interdisciplinary
courses,
not
conventional
engineering
programs.
That is
going to
make a
major
difference
in
Africa.

The
other
thing
is,
within
the
215-acre,
we want
to start
a
Research
Park.
Imagine
a G20 at
the
Research
Park in
Zanzibar.
We would
also
like to
expand
more on
Humanities
and
Management
programs
because
Indo-african
cultural
relationships
can be
defined.
That is
very
important.
This is
not just
an
education
institution
but also
a
meeting
of two
different
cultures.
We have
a lot of
commonalities
and we
have
differences.
While we
should
address
the
differences,
we
should
cash in
on the
commonality.

The
other
thing
is, like
how we
have a
partnership
with
Purdue
University
for
dualdegree
programs,
I want
something
like
this in
Zanzibar.
These
are my
visions
for the
new
campus.

**One
of
the
things
we
keep
hearing
about
public-funded
institutions
such
as
IITs
is
that
the
net
return
is
way
less
compared
to
the
rate
of
expenditure.
If
implemented
successfully,
do
you
think
international
campuses
will
add
another
layer
of
revenue
to
the
IITs?**

No, I am
not
looking
at
revenue
at this
point.
As
Indians,
we have
a very
big
culture
of
sharing
knowledge.
So this
is not a
commercial
proposal
at all.
At this
point of
time,
whatever
money is
generated
will be
pumped
back
into
that
campus
for its
growth.

**Any
word
of
advice
for
Preeti
Aghalayam,
Director
in-charge
of
the
Zanzibar
campus?**

Preeti
has done
a great
job. I
think
she is
now in a
state
where
she can
advise
me on
how to
go about
this
[laughs].
She has
been
with our
Office
of
Global
Engagement
for
quite
some
time and
has
understood
Zanzibar
very
quickly.
Preeti
has a
complete
grip
over the
situation
there. I
am very
happy
that she
is
managing
it so
much on
my
behalf.

**We
are
only
a
month
away
from
the
official
launch.
Excited?**

In the
history
of IIT
Madras,
going
over six
decades
back, we
are the
first to
set up
an
international
campus
and the
first
class is
going to
happen.
That is
the most
exciting
thing
for me.
And that
is also
a
message
we are
giving
out to
others.
I think
we are
setting
a good
example
with
Zanzibar.
It is
going to
be a
learning
lesson
for us
too. And
from
these
lessons,
we can
help
other
IITs in
the
future.

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