IIT Jammu to set up satellite campus in Leh, Ladakh

In a landmark step towards strengthening higher and technical education in Ladakh, IIT Jammu will set up its Satellite Campus in Leh.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed between the UT Administration of Ladakh and IIT Jammu on Saturday in the presence of Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, who described the initiative as a “historic and transformational moment” for the youth of Ladakh and said this would create pathways for aspiration, excellence and achievement.

The MoU was signed by Director, IIT Jammu, Prof Manoj Singh Gaur and Secretary, Higher Education Department, UT Ladakh, Bhanu Prabha.

The development assumes great significance, as for decades, students from Ladakh faced grave challenges in pursuing higher and technical education.

For want of a quality technical institution in Ladakh, Ladakhi youths were forced to travel thousands of kilometres, away from home, to study in prestigious institutions.

For families living in difficult and remote regions, this often meant emotional hardship, financial burden, and social challenges. However, this collaboration with IIT Jammu would now provide talented students from Ladakh with access to high-quality education closer to their home and open a world of opportunities in research, innovation, entrepreneurship and employment.

As per the MoU, in the initial phase, around 40 students from Ladakh will begin pursuing courses at the IIT campus in Jammu from the July — August 2026 academic session onwards.

Subsequently, a temporary Satellite Campus of IIT Jammu will be established at the Government Polytechnic College in Leh to facilitate academic activities within Ladakh. In the long term, a full-fledged residential engineering campus is proposed to be developed in Kargil.

To begin with, the campus will offer two future-oriented disciplines — Civil Engineering and Artificial Intelligence & Data Science.

LG Saxena stated that the collaboration would open the doors of world-class technical education for students from the remote and high-altitude regions of Ladakh and reduce the long-standing educational challenges faced by local families. He noted that the collaboration would create opportunities for faculty exchange, research partnerships, startup incubation, innovation centres and skill development.