The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus will double the number of students from next year, Shantanu Roy, Executive Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi-Abu Dhabi.
At present, the Abu Dhabi campus has 182 students, and the number will touch 400 next year, according to Roy, who added that the campus was starting a new undergraduate programme every year.
Though the curriculum offered in the Abu Dhabi campus is almost the same as Delhi, there are some customisations specific to the Middle East requirement. Roy said the Abu Dhabi campus was aligned with the priorities of the UAE, which include energy, sustainability, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and smart materials.
“The Middle East, which has had a history of largely being a fossil fuel-based economy, but the UAE is expanding and diversifying a lot. So, the whole education innovation ecosystem that is being set up here is in alignment with that diversification,” Roy said.
He recounted how in 2024, the campus started with 17 students. We had only one master’s programme. Within six months, we started two undergraduate programmes with around 50 enrolled then. “We are starting a new undergraduate programme every year, maybe a new master’s programme every year,” he told reporters who visited the campus.
The campus is also closely aligned with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. We are starting a master’s programme in AI, which is already offered in (IIT) Delhi,” he said.
The Abu Dhabi campus of IIT Delhi is located in Khalifa City and was inaugurated in 2024 following an agreement between India and the UAE. Undergraduate admissions are through JEE Advanced and Combined Admission Entrance Test (CAET).
