IIT Madras eyes foreign expansion through Master’s tie-ups

While talks are underway with multiple foreign universities in this regard, IIT Madras is also gearing up to welcome 45 international students to its campus. These students will pursue full-time postgraduate degrees in the academic session 2022-24.

The selected students, chosen from 500 applicants from 55 countries, have taken the presence of full-time foreign students in IIT-M campus to an all-time high. And the launch of an “International Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree Programme (I2MP)” has played a key role in the uptick in foreign student numbers.

“We are constantly trying to reach out to foreign universities and form research networks, start publishing together and improve. This cannot happen overnight but we are slowly and steadily improving. We are also opening a young international faculty scheme where we are trying to invite people from abroad to come and take up teaching assignments,” IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti told The Indian Express on Friday.

Nine PG degree courses are offered under the I2MP basket in the areas of nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, data science, computational engineering, robotics, quantum science and technology and cyber physical systems among others.

Next month, the IIT-M, which is the best higher educational institute in the country according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2022, will launch a dual-degree programme with Kathmandu university in the area of “energy systems”, Prof Kamakoti added.

But the institute plans to expand its global presence in newer ways as well.

Prof Raghunathan Rengasamy, Dean (Global Engagement) IIT Madras, said IIT-M is currently exploring hybrid models to expand in a “reasonably inexpensive fashion”.

This is different from the model pitched by IIT Delhi, which has submitted proposals to the Ministry of Education requesting that it be allowed to set up campuses in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Prof Kamakoti said IITs will soon unveil a plan on the possible expansion models.

“Very shortly we will come out with a plan on how to do that and whether a single IIT should expand abroad or a collection of IITs should do so jointly,” he added. Prof Rengasamy said establishing physical presence through satellite campuses entails high expenses.

“Institute of going for high infra, satellite campus model, we are trying to figure out how to do this in a reasonably inexpensive fashion. Where selection, courses, evaluation and degree will be offered by IIT Madras, but a student won’t have to move to India, or IIT Madras will not have to set up a campus abroad.

We are in touch with multiple partners in many countries,” Prof Rengasamy said.

Incidentally, IIT-M’s PG programmes were open to international students in the past as well, but there were very few takers for it. “Earlier, the numbers were low as international students used to find GATE difficult. Around three years back, we waived that requirement and started carrying out rigorous interviews for such applicants instead. But the last two years saw disruptions due to Covid-19,” Prof Rengasamy added.