Overview

IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi is a new international campus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, established to bring world-class engineering education to the UAE. While IIT Delhi carries significant global recognition and academic legacy, the challenge was that the newly established Abu Dhabi campus had limited awareness among local audiences. The goal was to create a digital experience that communicated the credibility, reputation, and academic excellence of IIT Delhi while building a distinct identity for its Abu Dhabi campus. The project focused on improving brand visibility, strengthening trust among prospective students and parents, and creating a smoother undergraduate admissions journey.

Building Recognition for a New Global Campus

Unlike established universities with decades of local recognition, IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi needed to communicate its credibility to a new audience unfamiliar with the IIT brand.

The primary UX challenges were:

• Establishing awareness of IIT Delhi’s legacy and global reputation

• Communicating the value of studying at the Abu Dhabi campus

• Helping students understand available programs and outcomes

• Simplifying the undergraduate application journey

• Increasing confidence during the decision-making process

The experience needed to bridge the gap between a globally recognised institution and a newly launched international campus.

Understanding Existing Experience Gaps

The project began with a detailed UX audit of the existing website and undergraduate admissions flow.

The evaluation focused on:

• Information hierarchy

• Content discoverability

• Application journey

• Program exploration

• Trust-building elements

• Conversion opportunities

The audit revealed opportunities to improve how information was structured and how prospective students progressed from discovering IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi to applying.

Learning From Established University Experiences

To understand how leading institutions communicate trust, legacy, and admissions information, benchmarking was conducted across three categories:

Legacy Universities

Studying globally recognised institutions helped identify how established universities communicate:

• Academic reputation

• Research impact

• Alumni success

• Institutional credibility

Examples included universities such as MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Imperial, and others.

Parent-Child International Campuses

Since IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi follows a similar model of an established institution expanding internationally, universities with overseas campuses were analysed. Key observations included:

• The importance of connecting with the parent institution’s reputation

• Building local relevance through community, faculty, and student experiences

• Communicating outcomes beyond just rankings

Local UAE Universities

Local competitors were analysed to understand regional expectations around:

• Admissions visibility

• Program discovery

• Student experience

• Campus life communication

The analysis helped identify patterns around aspirational storytelling, prominent CTAs, and trust-building content.

Creating a Trust-Driven Digital Experience

Based on research findings, the experience strategy focused on three core principles:

Establish Legacy: Communicate IIT Delhi’s reputation, history, and academic excellence to create immediate credibility.

Build Confidence: Use student stories, faculty profiles, achievements, and outcomes to provide social proof.

Guide Decisions: Create a structured journey that helps prospective students discover programs, evaluate opportunities, and complete applications.

Restructuring the Experience Around User Goals

The existing information structure was evaluated to identify navigation challenges and content gaps. A refined information architecture was created around the student decision-making journey:

Discover: Understanding IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi, its vision, and academic positioning.

Explore: Browsing programs, faculty, campus life, research, and opportunities.

Evaluate: Accessing admission requirements, eligibility, fees, and outcomes.

Apply: Completing the application journey with clear guidance. This approach reduced uncertainty and helped users move naturally from awareness to action.

Simplifying the Path From Interest to Application: UG Admissions

A major focus area was improving the undergraduate admissions journey. The redesigned flow aims to help students:

• Understand available programs

• Compare academic options

• Review eligibility requirements

• Access important admission information

• Complete applications confidently

The experience shifted from an information-heavy process to a guided decision-making journey.

Reducing Admissions Friction Through Self-Service: Eligibility Checker

An additional opportunity was identified beyond the initial project scope. Universities frequently receive a high volume of eligibility-related queries from prospective students. To reduce unnecessary communication and provide instant clarity, an eligibility checker concept was introduced. The tool allows students to enter basic academic information and quickly understand whether they meet initial admission requirements.

This improves:

• Student confidence

• Application readiness

• Admissions team efficiency

Creating Consistency Across the Platform

Following the UX strategy, a scalable design system was developed to maintain consistency across different sections of the website.

The system included:

• Component library

• Typography hierarchy

• Layout guidelines

• UI patterns

• Content structures

The design language balanced IIT Delhi’s established academic identity with the modern aspirations of a global university campus.

Transforming a New Campus Into a Recognisable Institution

The redesigned experience positioned IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi as more than a new university campus. It created a digital platform that communicates:

• Academic legacy

• Global opportunities

• Student outcomes

• Institutional credibility

By combining brand storytelling, improved information architecture, and a guided admissions experience, the website helps prospective students understand the value of joining IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi and confidently move toward application.

The website is currently under development and will be rolled out soon. Link to website.