The International Relations Office (IRO) was established in the year 2006 as the International Students' Office (ISO) to facilitate mutually beneficial international academic exchange and collaboration between TISS and foreign Universities /Institutions.

Since its inception, IRO has worked pro-actively to establish International Partners by assisting/ facilitating drawing up of MoUs/ agreements between TISS and International institutions as well as developing proposals for collaboration, and providing the necessary administrative institutional support to operationalizing these Partners and collaborations. It is important to note that, TISS is one of the few Indian Universities that has a full-fledged International Relations Office (IRO) that offers support and active engagement for Internationalizing Higher Education.

This exchange has been able to able to accommodate them and facilitate meaningful learning through our inter­disciplinary and trans­national teaching programme. Facilitating international mobility acts as a positive social multiplier. A mutually reciprocal cooperation helps in strengthening the values and ethos of the institute and offers an enriching learning experience for the Indian and International students and Faculty.

The International Office plays an important role in operationalizing regular mobility programs and prestigious fellowships/ scholarships. Over the years, International Relations Office (IRO) has expanded its programs and activities to match International Standards. In March 2016, IRO was given the status of “Independent Resource Centre for Internationalizing Education (IRCIE)”, which is an important milestone in its emergence as an important office in TISS. From Students Office to Relations Office to now becoming IRCIE, the office is upgrading its skills to develop newer programs and handle multiple activities. Since, this change in nomenclature and the status, IRO has witnessed immense growth in the number of programs and interest in internationalization.

TISS has signed MoUs with some of the best institutions around the world and established linkages with Universities and Institutions in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and North America. IRO plays an important role in liaising with various internal departments to facilitate the exchange of students/ faculty/ staff members between TISS and outside Universities, or students/ individuals/ researchers seeking admission/ affiliation at the Institute.

Through Global Partners and Programmes that are part of the Institute’s commitment towards engaging and learning from a diverse student body, it actively collaborates with top universities and consortiums which includes numerous incoming student/ faculty exchange and ‘Study Abroad’ programmes with reputed International Higher Education Institutions with co-teaching and credit sharing. Joint research, student exchange, faculty professional development and institutional capacity building are various facets of these connections.