3 May 2012 13:31:33 IST
, The Telegraph
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IIT blueprint for Mauritius
Engineering Entrance
,
JEE Main
IIT Delhi has readied a blueprint for a research centre in Mauritius, moving a step closer to getting an address in the island nation.
The premier tech school wants to initially set up a research centre that will be upgraded to a full-fledged university over five years and will be known as the International Institute of Technology.
The IIT has submitted a feasibility report to the Union HRD ministry detailing its plan to set up the centre that would focus on research in all branches of engineering that the institute is known for. The centre, which will cost $20 million (over Rs 105 crore), will collaborate with the University of Mauritius.
The Mauritius government had in 2010 requested the Indian government to explore if the IITs could set up a campus. R. Jeetah, the country’s minister of tertiary education, had met HRD minister Kapil Sibal and discussed the idea.
The IIT council, the apex body to decide on matters of IITs, approved the plan in January last year. The ministry then asked IIT Delhi to co-ordinate with the Mauritius government.
“We have conducted a feasibility study and found that it is not ideal to set up a full-fledged institution initially. We can set up a research centre and provide guidance to the students. Once the research centre stabilises, we will set up a full-fledged institution which will offer all kinds of courses, including under-graduate courses,” IIT Delhi director R.K. Shevgaonkar told a news conference today.
“The progress on the initiative now depends on the HRD ministry and the Mauritius government. As soon as they clear it, we will proceed further,” he added.
There are 15 IITs in India, eight of which have been started in the past three years. But the seven older IITs do not yet have a full-fledged campus on foreign soil.
Like IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay is planning a campus in New York. The institute took the decision following an invitation from the New York City administration, which had requested over top 100 universities and institutes from across the world to open their campus in the city.
IIT Kharagpur has plans to set up an extension centre in Dubai.
Some IIMs, too, have planned campuses abroad. While IIM Calcutta is looking to set up one in West Asia, IIM Lucknow wants to do so in Dubai.
Vriti Edustore
