Preeti Aghalayam’s academic journey has taken her from being a student at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras to leading the institute’s first international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
A chemical engineering graduate, Aghalayam studied at IIT Madras and completed her BTech in Chemical Engineering in 1991. According to her official IIT Madras Zanzibar profile, she then pursued an MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 1995, followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2000.
After completing her higher studies in the United States, Aghalayam went on to build an academic career in India. She joined IIT Bombay as a faculty member before moving to IIT Madras, where she became a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
Her research interests include underground coal gasification, reduction of automotive NOx, reduction of large reaction mechanisms and reactor modelling.
Preeti Aghalayam And IIT Madras Zanzibar
Aghalayam’s career took an international turn when IIT Madras announced her as the head of its upcoming Zanzibar campus in 2023. She became the Director-in-Charge of IIT Madras Zanzibar, making her the first woman to head an IIT campus. IIT Madras described the Zanzibar institute as its first international campus.
The campus was formally inaugurated on November 6, 2023, by Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi. It began its academic journey with programmes in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, including a four-year BS programme and a two-year MTech programme.
At the time of the inauguration, IIT Madras said students from Zanzibar, mainland Tanzania, Nepal and India had joined the first batch. The institute also highlighted the international character of the campus, with women accounting for 40% of the first cohort.
Aghalayam had described the launch as an opportunity to take IIT Madras’ academic and research strengths to East Africa. During the initial phase of the campus, she also outlined a vision of creating an international and diverse institute where research would remain a core focus.
From Director To Global Engagement Role
Aghalayam’s tenure as Director-in-Charge is now part of IIT Madras Zanzibar’s early history. The institute’s current official website lists Prof. Prabhu Rajagopal as Director-in-Charge, while Aghalayam is identified as the former Director-in-Charge and Dean of Global Engagement at IIT Madras.
Her association with the Zanzibar campus, however, continues through her academic and international engagement roles. IIT Madras currently lists her as Dean, Global Engagement, while she remains a faculty member in the School of Engineering and Science at IIT Madras Zanzibar.
The Zanzibar campus has also expanded beyond its original Data Science and AI offerings. IIT Madras has subsequently introduced programmes including Chemical Process Engineering, reflecting the institute’s plans to broaden academic opportunities at its international campus.
