According to an official release, at least 29 students from nine countries have enrolled in IIT-Guwahati as the authorities implement special initiatives to attract foreigners for higher education at the institute.
An IIT-Guwahati statement read that foreign students currently enrolled in the premier institute come from the United Kingdom, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Syria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Cameroon, and Seychelles.
As per the institute, it is actively seeking more foreign national students for admission to courses in engineering, sciences, humanities and social sciences, design, healthcare and medicine, management, and interdisciplinary areas.
“With rapid internationalisation of the education sector, IIT Guwahati shall gain a strong foothold across higher education institutes worldwide and can play an active role in mitigating challenges associated with global issues.” said professor TG Sitharam, director, IIT Guwahati
“Students, on the other hand, will gain by obtaining the quality education that we offer here and get an opportunity to pursue research in a world-class environment,” said Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati Director Prof. TG Sitharam.
He also emphasised the institute’s goal of becoming a world-class educational institution.
The institute is currently involved in six international exchange programmes, including a joint academic initiative (M Tech) in food science and technology with GIFU University of Japan and a joint PhD project in bioinformatics with Heidelberg University of Germany.
There is also a BSBE collaborative PhD programme in civil engineering with Curtin University in Australia, a collaborative PhD project with the National Institute of Material Science (NIMS) in Japan, a joint PhD supervision programme with Shantou University in China, and a joint PhD initiative with GIFU University in Mechanical Engineering are also offered.
Prof. Mihir Kumar Purkait, IIT-Guwahati Dean (Alumni and External Relations), stated, “To excel as a global leader, the institute must attract the best and brightest brains from around the world, and retain home-grown talent within the limits of our country.” It is a difficult job, but the authorities are optimistic that by taking small steps, they will become a destination for international students, he said.
“The institute looks to improve the number of foreign students by taking specific steps, including exchange programmes related to research, course and projects,” said professor Mihir Kumar Purkait, dean – alumni and external relations, IIT-Guwahati.
According to the statement, IIT-Guwahati has been ranked 384th in the QS World University Rankings 2023 and a rank of 37th in the world in terms of “research citations per faculty.”