IIT TO SET SHOP ABROAD
The Government proposes
to set up Campuses of IITs abroad. This follows growing demand
from developing nations including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mauritius
and countries of West Asia and South East Asia. This is considered
one of the main initiatives to promote Indian education abroad.
Many expert committees which favoured this approach feel that
only our leading Institutions like the IITs, IISc, IIMs with good
brand equity can help promote this venture. Once they establish
brand for Indian Education abroad others could follow.
The issue was considered
at length at the recent meeting of the Council of IITs in New
Delhi. The Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli
Manohar Joshi who chaired the meeting called for early submission
of the Review Committee report which is looking into this aspect.
Dr. Joshi said that most of these countries have low-level of
science and technology activities and feel that IITs would serve
as stepping stones to give a fillip to their scientific advancement.
The Minister pointed
out that Singapore, a considerably well developed country, recently
sent a proposal to facilitate the presence of an IIT for postgraduate
education and research with industry linkages in Singapore. Such
collaboration would be mutually beneficial, Dr. Joshi said. IITs
can be able to leverage Singapore into a world-class industrial
and R&D hub. Besides, such collaboration will allow the IITs
more involvement in post-graduate education of its own graduates,
who might otherwise take up post-graduate studies in the US or
other countries, he said.
Singapore has the
presence of several prestigious technical institutions and IITs
could benefit by working with them. The meeting felt that IIT's
presence would also help in developing linkages with the entire
South East Asia and China, as well as support in promoting India's
economic and commercial interest in the Asia-Pacific Region.
