PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete is expected to officially inaugurate the Arusha campus of the Nelson Mandela African Institutes of Science and Technology in Tengeru (NM-AIST), Meru District in Arusha region next week.

A statement from NM-AIST says the launching ceremony would be held at the campus grounds on Friday and is also to be graced by the University Chancellor Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal.

Arusha will be hosting two campuses in the Nelson Mandela Institutes of Science and Technology that are being established in several countries in African Continent.

The first Tanzanian-hosted campus, which President Kikwete will inaugurate is built at Tengeru while a second and much larger NM-AIST campus and technology city is expected to be established in Karangai area, near Mbuguni also in Meru district.

The construction of the first Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science Technology campus of Tengeru, built at the cost of 40 billion/- in August 2010 and was completed in September 2011 when it started enrolling pioneer trainees.

Vice Chancellor Prof Burton Mwamila said the NM-AIST had selected 92 initial students from Tanzania, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia who reported for the maiden academic late last year.

The Arusha-based University is part of the African Institute of Science and Technology (AIST)-a higher-learning system concept developed by the Nelson Mandela Institute (NMI) aimed at bringing the highest level of technical learning facilities to Africa.

AIST represents a global effort to foster Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth through promotion of excellence in science and engineering. The ultimate vision of NMI is to develop four AIST campuses across Sub-Sahara Africa one each in the North, South, East (Arusha) and West Africa.

AIST would draw on the decentralized model that has been successfully implemented by IIT-Bombay in India. Core disciplines in science and engineering would be delivered by all of the main campuses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.