The move comes as Indian higher education institutions increasingly pursue overseas campuses and international partnerships as part of broader internationalisation efforts.
The proposed sub-campus will see IIT Bombay deliver its academic offerings from the SUNY Old Westbury campus, beginning with certificate courses before expanding into full degree and research programs.
Rather than building an entirely new campus, IIT Bombay has opted to partner with an existing university, allowing it to focus on developing academic programs instead of navigating land acquisition and regulatory approvals.
“Setting up an entirely new campus would have required us to acquire land and obtain various approvals. By partnering with an existing university in the US, we can avoid these formalities and concentrate on developing courses and academic programs,” director Shireesh Kedare said during a virtual press conference.
The first certificate courses will focus on artificial intelligence, sustainability and clean technology before expanding to undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs in science and engineering for students from around the world, including the US and India.
“These will be certificate courses which can begin from 2027. Whereas starting complete programs will happen in due course of time,” Kedare said, adding that admissions will not be through India’s Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Advanced).
Unlike existing exchange and joint-degree arrangements, “with this collaboration we will offer our courses on US land,” he said.
The institutions will initially focus on faculty and researcher exchanges, joint research projects, conferences and symposia while developing new academic programs.
IIT Bombay also plans to establish research laboratories on the Long Island campus. Kedare said the institutions’ complementary strengths made the partnership a natural fit and that the institute’s extensive US alumni network would support the initiative.
The agreement is currently at the Letter of Intent stage, with details including admissions, tuition fees, degree structures, credit transfer arrangements and timelines for full academic programs yet to be announced ahead of the planned 2027 launch.
We are excited to establish a direct partnership that advances teaching, innovation and excellence in disciplines like physics and engineering with a goal of creating a robust IIT Bombay presence on our campus
Timothy E. Sams, SUNY
“We are excited to establish a direct partnership that advances teaching, innovation and excellence in disciplines like physics and engineering with a goal of creating a robust IIT Bombay presence on our campus so that together we can prepare the next generation of leaders who will fuel success across our region, state, nation and world,” said SUNY Old Westbury president, Timothy E. Sams.
India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan also welcomed the announcement. Describing the partnership as “a living corridor of knowledge between India and the US”, Pradhan said that it would create “win-win opportunities” for students and academics in both countries while supporting the development of cutting-edge technologies in frontier science.
The move follows similar international expansion by other IITs. IIT Madras opened its campus in Zanzibar in 2023, while IIT Delhi later established an international campus in Abu Dhabi.
