IIT-Bombay will soon be opening specialised certificate programs at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury. The idea is to expand global access to IIT’s engineering and technology education. IIT-Bombay’s director Shireesh B. Kedare noted that “IIT Bombay will directly conduct its own courses in the U.S..” This is another questionable foreign adventure by the IIT system and deserves careful scrutiny.(Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.)The recent overseas initiatives of the IIT system are not all driven by the same objectives. This is evident in the experience of IIT Madras-Zanzibar (Tanzania), established in 2023 as the first overseas campus of any IIT. The IIT-Madras Zanzibar Campus, was launched through a partnership between the governments of India and Tanzania. Under this arrangement, IIT Madras is responsible for the academic programmes, while the Government of Tanzania meets the capital and operational expenditure. Students enrolled are awarded degrees by IIT Madras. The Zanzibar Campus currently offers two Bachelor of Science (BS) programmes and a Master of Technology (M.Tech.) programme. At present, the campus has an enrolment of 129 students, of whom 51% are from Tanzania, with the remaining students representing countries such as Ethiopia, Zambia, Kenya—and India itself.Join THEdge LinkedIn groupIIT Delhi established its international campus in Abu Dhabi in 2024. IIT Delhi–Abu Dhabi operates under a funding model in which the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) serves as the principal sponsor covering all operational costs, including faculty salaries. Currently, the campus offers B.Tech, M.Tech, and Ph.D. programmes and enrolled less than 200 students in the last academic year across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.India’s overseas higher education footprint is set to expand further with the last year’s announcement of the first IIT campus in Nigeria. Taken together, these initiatives reflect India’s evolving use of higher education as an instrument of soft power by moving beyond student mobility towards establishing institutional presence overseas.While the IIT Madras-Zanzibar and IIT Delhi -Abu Dhabi initiatives demonstrate an alignment between institutional capacity and developmental needs of the host governments, IIT Bombay’s expansion into the United States through a different operational model appears to take a perplexing direction.Unanswered questionsIIT-Bombay’s choice of SUNY-Old Westbury for an academic partnership is odd. This campus with approximately 5,000 students, most of them undergraduates, is located in one of the most affluent towns in suburban New York City. It does not have an engineering school and is not noted for its science programs. Will IIT eventually offer undergraduate courses? The Old Westbury campus offers few research facilities. Will students commute from New York City? Will the proposed certificate programmes be taught by regular IIT faculty located at Old Westbury? Who will be the likely students for such certificates?Further, there is much domestic competition for certificate programs in AI, sustainability, and clean energy, including probably from campuses of the State University of New York system itself. While the IITs are highly regarded globally, it is the case that not many American students will be familiar with the “brand.” According to news reports, IIT-Bombay plans to establish research laboratories at Old Westbury. Such facilities are quite costly to build in the U.S.. Who will be providing the funding? In short, there are numerous unanswered questions. If IIT Bombay plans to invest for the long term in the U.S., Old Westbury does not seem like the best choice.Beyond symbolic adventuresOver the past decade, India has increasingly positioned higher education as a key instrument of its global engagement strategy. This shift reflects a broader recognition that, in an era where international influence is increasingly shaped by knowledge, innovation, and human capital, higher education is an important source of national soft power. Reflecting this strategic orientation, India has adopted a wide range of initiatives and among them, the overseas expansion of IITs represent one of the most ambitious developments.However, there are many questions that deserve careful answers. Perhaps the most fundamental question is—why? What might be the potential enrolment prospects of the new Old Westbury campus? One cannot be too optimistic given the current state of U.S. higher education—demographic-led declines in enrolments, a decline in internationalisation, and increasing government interference. For the IITs, it would be easier, much less expensive, and with little danger of damaging the IIT brand internationally to enter into partnerships with top foreign universities and offer relevant joint degree or certificate programs—as many foreign universities are doing in India.Secondly, who is paying the costs of the development of the SUNY collaboration? The IITs themselves? The Government of India? The host institutions abroad? The current state of SUNY finances is not very favorable—and there may even be legal restrictions to investing in foreign institutions. The cost of developing and sustaining a branch campus is quite substantialWhat’s in it for the IITs? Many of the IITs already have a serious shortage of faculty. According to latest reports, nearly 38% of sanctioned faculty positions across the 23 IITs remained unfilled. In this context a question arises: who will teach at these branches? And academic salaries in the U.S., especially in a high cost area like New York, will need to be quite high by Indian standards. Further, some of the newer IIT campuses need support and the stronger institutions, such as Delhi, Madras and Bombay, could invest their energies domestically.If the IITs are to function as instruments of India’s soft power, their overseas engagements must be guided not only by ambition but also by strategic objectives. The choice of institutional partners, target audiences, programme design, funding arrangements, long-term sustainability, academic complementarity, market demand, and financial viability, will ultimately determine whether these recent initiatives strengthen India’s global academic reputation or merely create symbolic international outposts.The fundamental purpose of the IITs is to serve Indian students and to provide research and leadership at the highest level—not to serve foreign policy goals, however laudable they may be. And the clear challenges that the IITs face at home argue against overseas expansion.One needs to seriously ask if these foreign adventures are worthwhile—to the IITs, and to the nation. Our answer is no—and at least a serious analysis of the pros and cons is needed.(Philip Gy. Altbach is professor and distinguished fellow emeritus, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, United States. Eldho Mathews is programme officer (internationalisation) at the Kerala State Higher Education Council, India.)