India sends IITians abroad. Why not IITs?

IIT alumni dot the global landscape. From North America to Europe to Asia, the IIT network is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. IITians have scored as much success abroad (think of Rajat Gupta, Arun Sarin, Vinod Khosla) as they have at home (think of N.R. Narayanamurthy, Yogi Deveshwar, Vindi Banga). In the US, Canada and Europe, IITians are in positions of importance.

The question is: if IITians can thrive abroad, might not IIT itself?

The idea is not altogether new. Imagine it: in the middle of the sun-drenched desert, students learn about the Siege of the Alamo, the bravery of cowboys and the oil boom.

This scene would be nothing unusual in Texas, where students bone up on local history. But this class will be in Qatar, where Texas A&M University is establishing facilities and duplicating curriculum — all the way down to Texan history.

American and British universities have been expanding abroad to increase their influence and, not insignificantly, bank balance. Business schools have been the most aggressive. The Indian School of Business was formed with Kellog and Wharton.

MBA programmes attract ambitious students in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and the Middle East. American and British medical schools and undergraduate programmes are replicating themselves abroad.

Why not the same fate for IIT? By setting up IITs in, say, the Middle East or southeast Asia, India can quietly export its values. Host countries would have much to gain and would encourage an IIT’s arrival.

Southeast Asia would be an ideal spot. It has traditionally shared close ties with India. Anyone travelling through the region can spot India’s influence from the name of the Thai King Rama V to the temples of Bali in Indonesia to the vibrant Indian immigrant communities in Singapore and Malaysia.

Yet, in spite of all this, China seeks to supplant India as the prime regional force. Whereas China seeks to exert influence through a bluewater navy, India could, in a single shot, sink most of the Chinese plans by building an IIT.

Southeast Asia is becoming a battleground between India and China. By creating a generation of scholars and leaders taught by Indian professors, India could establish influence — and cheaply — for generations.

The Middle East is another prime destination. As they see their oil reserves waning, the royal kingdoms of the region are eager to establish training programmes for underemployed youth. Finding a willing crown prince to sponsor an IIT would, I suspect, be as easy as striking oil in the Arabian desert in the 1930s.

By placing an IIT right in the heart of the Islamic world, India would cement relations with governments in the region. Just as IIT Southeast Asia would help balance China, IIT Middle East would counter Pakistan.

It should be said that establishing IITs abroad would be lucrative. Having invested in educational resources over the past half-century and built a global brand, the IITs must now capitalise on their reputation.

If a fully functional regional school has a student population of 5,000, there are no grounds to argue that an overseas IIT can’t make $ 5-10 million (between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000 per student) in fees. While profit isn’t the primary motive, it will reassure doubters.

There are difficulties in replicating a university abroad and any such move would have to be carefully managed. World-class facilities would have to be built, noted faculty recruited, powerful curriculum designed and top-notch students enticed to enroll.

IIT has shown it can successfully replicate itself within India; now it is time to syndicate itself around the world. If lesser institutions can do it, surely IIT can.

IIT is India’s stealth weapon. By producing a cadre of well-educated elites, India has created a benevolent army deployed throughout the world. The engineers-cum-businessmen soldiers have only recently come into global prominence — bright, educated, hard-working and honest.

By establishing beachheads across bordering regions, India extends her influence in a genial yet powerful manner, developing a phalanx of indigenous soldiers who incarnate what is most promising about India.

And we needn’t limit IIT expansion to the developed world. The cache is just as strong, if not stronger, in the West. So why not an IIT Cambridge — right next to Harvard and MIT?