Chennai: IIT Madras is set to enrol more than 100 foreign students for the first time in postgraduate courses and PhD programmes. It has given admission letters to 150 students from as many as 17 countries for postgraduate and PhD programmes for the 2026-27 academic year.This is a big jump compared to 90 admission letters issued to foreign students in the previous year.Students from neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and East African countries like Tanzania and Ethiopia have received the highest number of admission letters this year.“We expect more than 100 foreign students to join MTech and PhD programmes this year. However, the number of students joining the programmes will depend on students getting visas and scholarships,” said Preeti Aghalayam, dean (global engagement), IIT Madras.“We have curated interdisciplinary courses such as robotics and computational engineering for foreign students. This is also one of the reasons for more students showing interest,” she added.Most of these students enrolled through the ministry of external affairs’ Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship.On enrolling foreign students in UG programmes, she said: “The institute has strong academic partnerships with foreign universities for student exchange programmes. We are expecting about 50 foreign students from Europe and other countries for one semester this academic year.”“These students also can come back for their UG projects in their final semester as IIT Madras has a strong startup ecosystem,” Preeti Aghalayam said.At a recent event, foreign secretary Vikram Misri awarded degrees to 46 international students from 12 countries.“The fast-growing technology ecosystems in the world today are not all in the same places that they used to be. Nairobi has a technology hub that they call the ‘Silicon Savannah’. Bengaluru is one of the world’s foremost centres of software talent. Lagos, Accra, Cairo and Colombo are generating startups, patents, products and solutions at a pace that was unimaginable just two decades ago,” Vikram Misri said at the event.
