Airtel Africa fellowship worth USD 5,00,000 to empower students at IIT-M Zanzibar

CHENNAI: The Airtel Africa Foundation on Tuesday announced the launch of the Airtel Africa Fellowship Programme for undergraduates at IIT Madras Zanzibar, the first-ever foreign campus established by an IIT.

According to a statement by IIT-M, the programme aims to support students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Data Science and AI at the Zanzibar campus.

“Starting with an outlay of $500,000, this programme will benefit 10 UG students for their entire course duration of 4 years. Recipients will be known as ‘Airtel Africa Fellows’, and will receive 100% of their college fees – $12,000 as per the fee structure of the institute for a four-year programme. Additionally, to cover the cost of living expenses, $500 will be given to all eligible students.”

Commenting on the fellowship scheme, Zanzibar’s Minister of Education and Vocational Training, HE Lela Mohamed Mussa, said: “Providing access to this high quality education to students from Tanzania and the rest of the continent, who are topping the IIT-M Zanzibar screening and test processes, through financial assistance, is an important priority for us. We’re thankful to this support from the Airtel Africa Foundation, which will enhance our own efforts in this direction.”

This maiden initiative also aims to enhance educational opportunities for meritorious students, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, enrolled at the institute. The scheme is designed to support students from 14 African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC, Niger, Chad, Congo B, Gabon, Madagascar and Seychelles.