First Indian Institute of Technology campus to open in US

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay will launch its first overseas sub-campus in the US in collaboration with the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury.

Located at SUNY Old Westbury’s Long Island campus, this new centre is set to commence academic operations in 2027. This marks the first time an IIT will run its own academic programmes on American soil.

This initiative represents a major step toward the internationalisation of Indian higher education, following the establishment of IIT Madras’ Zanzibar campus and IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus.

Its objective is to expand global access to IIT Bombay’s engineering and technology education while fostering research collaboration and innovation between India and the US.

A ‘Letter of Intent’ (LoI) formalising this partnership was signed by IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare and SUNY Old Westbury President Dr Timothy E Sams, in the presence of India’s Consul General Binaya S, on 26 June at the SUNY Old Westbury campus on Long Island.

Initially, the campus will launch specialised certificate programmes starting in 2027, featuring courses focused on emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), sustainability and clean technology.

IIT Bombay also plans to establish research laboratories at the campus. In subsequent phases, the collaboration is expected to expand to include undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes.

Kedare described the project as a major milestone for the institute. In a statement, he said: “IIT Bombay will directly conduct its own courses in the US.”

According to Rahul Choudaha, principal at DrEducation Research – an observatory of global higher education trends and insights – the initiative is significant more for what it symbolises than for its immediate scale.

With nearly 325,000 students, India is the largest single source of international STEM students in the US and this partnership offers a directional shift in that flow, even if it is with a humble start, he said.

“This is the first time an institution of this calibre has chosen to embed itself directly within a US university rather than pursue the more traditional internationalisation playbook – MOUs, student exchange, joint research grants, recruiting fairs,” Choudaha told University World News.

“By physically anchoring a presence on an American campus, IIT Bombay is signalling a shift from India exporting talent to India exporting institutional presence. If it works even modestly, it sets a template – however unproven – for other top Indian institutions to think beyond the usual toolkit of internationalisation and consider direct footholds abroad,” he said.

IIT Bombay to focus on academics

Explaining the decision to partner with an existing university rather than establishing an independent campus, Kedare stated that this collaboration would allow IIT Bombay to focus on academics rather than land acquisition and regulatory approvals.

He also said that SUNY Old Westbury currently lacks an engineering department, making this partnership mutually complementary. Additionally, it is expected that IIT Bombay’s strong alumni network in the US will support this initiative.

Beyond academic programmes, the partnership will foster faculty and researcher exchanges, joint research projects, conferences and multidisciplinary collaboration in emerging fields of science and technology.

Welcoming the initiative, Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan described it as a “vibrant corridor of knowledge” between India and the US.

He stated: “It would strengthen innovation in engineering education, research and technology, while creating new opportunities for students and academics from both nations.”

However, Choudaha cautioned that this initiative should be viewed in the right perspective.

“This starts with certificate programmes in a Long Island suburb – not full degree programmes, not thousands of students. New York is also an intensely competitive, saturated higher-education market, with elite private universities, strong public systems and community colleges all within reach,” he said.

According to Choudaha, “This looks like a deliberately phased approach rather than a large-scale rollout. Starting with certificate courses lets IIT Bombay test traction – see how the market responds, how the partnership functions operationally – before committing to degree and research programmes.

In other words, this isn't a bet on scale from day one; it's structured experimentation, with room to expand if the early phase proves itself.”

Sams hailed IIT Bombay as a world-class institution, noting that the partnership would advance teaching, innovation and excellence in disciplines such as engineering and physics.

Choudaha said that foreign universities have a practice of testing the US market with limited offerings before expanding on a large scale.

“For example, CKGSB’s presence in New York and INSEAD’s in San Francisco are both orientated around corporate relationships, offering limited certificate-style programming rather than broad academic degree pathways.

IIT Bombay’s move, by contrast, builds on its strength in engineering and technology. A Scottish university that attempted a fully fledged campus in New York did not achieve the expected enrolment scale and ultimately closed,” he said.

IIT Bombay’s reputation and recognition are real, but it is likely to be one more name in a very crowded area and its appeal will very likely be limited to the Indian diaspora, at least to start, Choudaha added.

There are 23 IITs, a network of autonomous public, engineering, technology and research universities governed by the Institutes of Technology Act of 1961.