‘Best way to conquer the world...’: Anand Mahindra hails opening of IIT-Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus

Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, hailed ‘brainpower’ as the best way to conquer the world instead of firepower. The Mahindra Group chief made the observation while celebrating the opening of IIT-Delhi's Abu Dhabi campus. 

This development holds significance as it marks the opening of first-ever full campus opening of a prestigious institute like IIT outside India and is a significant milestone in international academic collaboration between India and the UAE. 

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, opened the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi Abu Dhabi campus on September 4.  

The Crown Prince also greeted the first batch of undergraduate students, who will pursue BTech degrees in Energy Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering at the campus.  

The batch comprising 52 students was chosen through the JEE Advanced examination and the recently-introduced Combined Admission Entrance Test (CAET) for international candidates.  

IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi offers diverse academic programmes with a focus on engineering, computer science and energy. The curriculum is designed to maintain the rigorous academic standards at IIT-Delhi while also fostering innovation and research.  

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted the significance of the IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi campus in strengthening the India-UAE bond. In a post on X (formally Twitter), Pradhan wrote, “The IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus symbolizes the India-UAE friendship and reflects our shared vision for leveraging knowledge, science, and technology to promote mutual and global prosperity. It aligns with PM Modi’s vision for the internationalisation of India’s education system.” 

During the inauguration, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed announced strategic partnerships between IIT-Delhi Abu Dhabi and leading higher education institutions in the UAE, including Khalifa University, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and Zayed University.