Shillong, August 31: The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata in collaboration with the NGO Indo-American Center, Washington D.C. and Education USA and United States India Education Foundation hosted the U.S. Universities Alumni: India Connect Program today in Shillong.
This daylong education information fair provided guidance on higher education opportunities in the U.S. to prospective Indian students. The conference program underscored that studying at one of the 4,500 accredited U.S. colleges and universities offers a world-class education, robust alumni communities, rewarding cross-cultural experiences, and a life-long engagement with the United States.
Inaugurating the fair at the St. Anthony’s College in Shillong today, Acting Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate Jay Treloar said,“There is no sector that better illustrates the mutual benefit of our relationship better than education, a priority sector in both the US and India. Education has become one of the main pillars in our bilateral strategic partnership. We already have a very strong history of cooperation in higher education.”
The USIEF and education USA advisor, U.S. State Department alumni and experts from the Indo-American Center briefed the students about the benefits of studying in the U.S. The students met alumni of U.S. universities and asked them questions about the American education system, admissions process, while also learning about USIEF and Education USA resources.
The goal of the alumni fairs is to provide prospective students and their parents with firsthand information and advice from U.S. State Department exchange program alumni, university student counselors, Education USA representatives, and the U.S. State Department officials.A Similar day long fairs were organized in Jamshedpur on August 24 and Ranchi on August 25. The fair will be held in Guwahati tomorrow.
Mr. Treloar also highlighted that there are currently 186,000 Indian students studying in the United States, according to the Open Doors Report of 2017, the second highest number of foreign students. “The total number of Indian students in the United States has more than doubled over the last decade, from 81,000 in 2008 to 186,000 in 2017,” he noted.
“USIEF and Education USA have played a major role in this achievement,” he said. “Education USA provides accurate, current, and comprehensive information on U.S. higher education. Currently, there are seven Education USA centers spread across in India, which employ more than 30 education advisors. The Education USA office for East and Northeast India is located in the American Center in Kolkata.”
