In this conversation, Prof. Preeti Aghalayam, Dean of School of Science & Engineering & Director-in-charge, Zanzibar campus, IIT Madras, also an alumna of the institute, talks about being the first director of IIT Zanzibar - for the first IIT campus abroad, and also the first woman director of an IIT. “It’s a fantastic opportunity and I’m so glad that people have put their faith in me,” she says. As she explains, Zanzibar’s location is very strategic as it connects well to West Asia as well and she expects this location will be attractive also to a whole lot of students from the East African nations.