Delhi, India will house a major UChicago academic center next spring, University officials announced this morning in a live webcast from India’s capital.

Similar to the University’s Centers in Beijing and Paris, the Center in Delhi aims to foster international collaborations and an open exchange of ideas among scholars from Indian universities and the University of Chicago. The 17,000-square-foot center will officially open on March 28 and 29, 2014, University President Robert J. Zimmer said at a press conference.

“Our goal is to create an intellectual destination in Delhi where scholars and students from the United States, India, and around the world can benefit from the free exchange of ideas,” he said.

The center will not grant degrees but will focus on promoting dialogue and hosting conferences with South Asian and UChicago faculty. There will be three main areas of study: business, economics, law, and policy; culture, society, religion, and the arts; and science, energy, medicine, and public health.

The announcement comes three years after a committee of faculty members submitted a proposal to the president and provost recommending the establishment of a Center in Delhi. The University has already begun construction on the center in Connaught Place, a business district in Delhi.

Gary Tubb, professor of South Asian languages and civilizations, was named the faculty director of the new center.

“We hope we’ll be able to take a flexible approach and be helpful to individuals in all categories, both from the United States and India—all sorts of thoughtful people who are engaged in research and the discussion of ideas,” Tubb said.

He said there is no preset list of qualifications for participation in the center.