Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has launched IITM Global, a landmark international outreach initiative aimed at transforming the Indian Institute of Technology Madras into the world’s first multinational IIT. The programme marks a major step in expanding India’s higher education, research, and innovation footprint across the globe.
Built on IIT Madras’s strong academic foundation, advanced infrastructure, and close industry links, IITM Global focuses on promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and research with real-world societal impact. The initiative will establish overseas campuses, research centres, and startup ecosystems, enabling deeper international academic and technological collaboration.
At the launch, Jaishankar подчерк (highlighted) that India’s foreign policy is increasingly leveraging domestic institutions to create global impact. He pointed to the IIT Madras campus in Tanzania as a successful example of how Indian expertise is being extended to partner nations for capacity-building, skills development, and technology transfer.
As part of the rollout, IIT Madras has signed multiple high-impact MoUs with global partners — including agreements in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Dubai, and the Asia-Pacific region (such as Singapore and Malaysia), along with several under the India-for-Global initiative. These partnerships will focus on joint research, startup and industry collaboration, talent exchange, and translating deep-tech innovation into practical solutions.
With IITM Global, India aims to position IIT Madras as a truly global institution and strengthen the country’s role as a hub of knowledge, innovation, and technology-driven development.
