Team Siliconindia

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted India-UAE educational ties with IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus and IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi’s expansion.
• UAE hosts top Indian universities, 109 CBSE schools, and now India’s first overseas Atal Incubation Centre to boost joint innovation.
• Pradhan stressed NEP 2020’s vision of internationalisation, citing UAE’s adoption of Atal Tinkering Labs and recognition of Indian teachers.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that India and the UAE are in a new era of educational collaboration with the opening of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's Dubai campus and the increasing number of Indian schools and universities in the Emirates.

Addressing the press at his visit, Pradhan indicated that prominent Indian institutions like Manipal University, Amity University, BITS Pilani, and IIFT Ghaziabad are already present in the UAE, as well as 109 CBSE-affiliated schools serving the Indian population. "Leadership of Dubai and Abu Dhabi were satisfied with our interaction", he stated, indicating that India is keen on further deepening the partnership in education.

Pradhan emphasized India's emphasis on school-level innovation by the Atal Innovation Mission, initiated in 2016. It has established 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in India, with budgetary support in the recent budget for 50,000 additional ones. More than 100 Atal Incubation Centres now nurture over 5,000 startups in various districts in the country. He stated that India's first overseas Atal Incubation Centre was opened this week at the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus, a key expansion of India's overseas innovation ecosystem.

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The UAE schools had also opted voluntarily to be a part of the Atal Tinkering Lab movement and follow its protocols, the minister said. "This is an innovative education architecture that we are building together with the UAE", he added. Pradhan also met management representatives and principals of Indian schools in the UAE on National Teachers' Day. He appreciated their effort towards education and expressed that Indian teachers are being recognized in the UAE not just at the school level but even in universities and research.

Highlighting developments at IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi, Pradhan said the institute has now launched a new undergraduate programme in Chemical Engineering, adding to existing courses in Computer Science and Sustainable Energy, along with an M.Tech in Sustainable Energy. Twenty-three PhD students have also been admitted, completing a ‘full academic cycle’ at the campus.

"Indian institutions abroad reflect the internationalisation vision of the National Education Policy 2020", Pradhan said. "India is a dynamic economy with strong fundamentals, and education collaborations such as these highlight our emerging global role".