Education Trade Mission to India

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Why You Should Join

Mission participants will:

• Gain market exposure and find potential partners in the three major metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi;
• Assess current and future business prospects by establishing valuable contacts with prospective study-abroad consultants, potential students and educational institutions, and;
• Develop market knowledge and relationships leading to effective student recruitment strategies and potential partnerships.

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Target Sectors - U.S. Education Institutions and Education Technology Companies

The mission is designed for:

• Regionally accredited graduate and undergraduate schools
• Educational technology companies 
• Study state consortia whose members are also appropriately accredited at the regional level 

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Notional Schedule

September 12, 2022: Mumbai, India

• Country Briefing
• Business-to-Business Meetings
• Student Fair

September 13, 2022: Mumbai, India

• Indian University Campus Tours and Site Visits

September 14, 2022: Bengaluru, India

• Business-to-Business Meetings
• Indian University Campus Tour

September 15, 2022: New Delhi, India

• Business-to-Business Meetings
• Student Fair

September 16, 2022:  New Delhi, India

• Indian University Campus Tour
• U.S. Embassy Meeting

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Fees & Expenses

Cost:

• $4326 USD* for SMEs or not-for-profit institutions
• $5915 USD* for large firms or for-profit institutions

With + $500 USD for each additional company representative 

Participants may consider optional Mission Stops in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.  The fee for each additional mission stop is $950 USD.  (Please note that space is limited for each additional stop and interested participants will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis and a market assessment by the U.S. Commercial Service specialist in each optional stop.)

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How to Apply

Applicants must submit a completed and signed trade mission application and below Education Institution Questionnaire, including adequate information on their products and/or services, primary market objectives and goals for participation no later than July 31, 2022.  Slots are made available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Apply for the Mission

The U.S. Department of Commerce will review applications and make selection decisions on a rolling basis until the maximum of 30 participants are selected.  Recruitment will conclude no later than July 31, 2022.

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Sponsorship Opportunities

This trade mission provides a unique marketing opportunity for U.S. companies providing complementary products and support services to the U.S. international education sector to connect with representatives of U.S. colleges and universities and U.S. education technology companies interested in the international student market in India.

Your organization will have an opportunity to:

• Promote your brand, products, and services to approximately 25 participating U.S. educational institutions and ed tech companies;
• Network with U.S. Commercial Service officers in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi, and;
• Directly engage with U.S. educational institutions and ed tech companies, and;
• Engage with Indian education sector stakeholders, including students, agents, and university representatives.

Marketing Partner Benefits at Every Level
View our marketing partner levels below. Customized partnership opportunities may also be available. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do the B2B meetings work? Can I choose my own meetings?

CS will be asking you to provide a brief profile of your institution, including academic programs your institution or company is focused on and what kinds of business relationships you would be open to consider. We will be asking our Indian contacts to do the same. A major thrust of our program is to introduce you to like-minded entities for one-on-one business meetings, which we often refer to as “B2B meetings”.

About a month ahead of your travel, our Commercial Specialists will send you a list, with profiles attached, of potential Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), education agents, and other sector stakeholders from which you can choose to request a meeting. We will also be providing a list of our delegations, along with the profiles you submit, to our Indian contacts as well to understand their interest in meeting with individual delegations during the mission.

We will do our best to match you up in advance with appropriate meeting counterparts. Of course, there will be some constraints related to demand and availability of slots, but all efforts will be made to match you to relevant and interested parties with which you can meet to discuss opportunities.

These meetings will be an exceptional opportunity to get firsthand input about the education market in the specific city/region from local stake holders. After you have submitted your list, we will go ahead and schedule one-on-one meetings for you at each city. We plan to arrange up to 8 meetings in each city, depending on the availability of time and resources. The total number of meetings may vary from city to city, as well.

2. Who are you contacting in India? How do I know they will be relevant to me?

We will be targeting graded schools that are interdisciplinary in nature as a rule. We will also be contacting universities offering specializations that we will bring to you for consideration. We will, of course, provide insights as to how and why these entities might be of particular interest to you, but it will ultimately be your decision as to who you agree to meet with and the topics you wish to discuss. As noted above, we will be sending you a list of schools, agents, and other stakeholders well in advance of your travel. Our Commercial Specialists will be in regular contact with you or your office to discuss suggested meetings, hear your recommendations and feedback, and update you on the progress.

3. Can I visit other schools, companies, or individuals not on the program?

Yes. We will have been and will continue to reach out to universities across India as we constantly seek to expand our relationship base with Indian HEIs. If we are not including an HEI or other entity that is of interest, we would welcome suggestions from you and other delegates as to who you are particularly interested in meeting. As we discussed during our initial counseling calls, we have made immense efforts to reach out to Indian HEIs that we believe are well positioned to partner with and succeed with U.S. HEI counterparts. Again, if there are specific HEIs or other sector stakeholders that you will want to meet, we will do our best to recruit those entities so that you can meet with them under the auspices of the Trade Mission.

4. I noticed you have chosen certain schools to visit on the agenda. Why have you chosen these schools?

A visit to various Universities across India will give you an understanding of their infrastructure, lab facilities, as well as a sense of the challenges faced by HEIs in India. One such example would be Somaiya University, a very well regarded private multidisciplinary university located in the heart of Mumbai. We will also be visiting NMIMS, also very well regarded, which has an urban campus with programs heavily focused on business studies. The campuses of both schools are quite different, and we want delegates to develop a better understanding of HEIs in India. It is important to note that many schools are developing in ‘rural’ areas outside of major cities due to land availability, costs, and related issues.

We intend to visit schools in Bengaluru and Delhi as well. Aside from facility tours, the primary reason for these visits is to meet and engage with senior decision makers and learn about their concerns and aspirations. We are advising the schools to make the tours as efficient as possible, as the main purpose is to gather and discuss the plans and ambitions of these institutions.

Proximity to our meeting and event venues is a strong driver of our choices for campus visits, but also the openness and interest level of schools in developing strong academic partnerships with overseas institutions. Unfortunately, we will have time constraints in every city, and we do need to be mindful of how to best use our limited time!

5. Can I do a side visit to a potential partner not on the Trade Mission agenda?

As mentioned earlier the B-2-Bs are pre-scheduled meetings that you select with advice and counsel from our specialists. In addition to those we suggest, you can include other entities that are known to you. Our objective is to include well-regarded universities and other sector stakeholders in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and from the surrounding areas in the Trade Mission program. In short, if there is a school of particularly interest to you that does not appear on our list, we will make every effort to recruit that institution and arrange a meeting along the terms that you desire.

Should you wish to deviate from the Trade Mission program for a short period, we will do what we can to assist you in making necessary arrangements. We may not be able to guarantee a U.S. Government escort to any meeting not described in the itinerary. CS would not cover any additional costs arising from outside meetings, including ground transportation. This flexibility is available to you at any of the Trade Mission stops.

6. Is international travel open to US citizens across India? Do I need to provide you with my itinerary?

Once known, please provide the CS team your international flight schedule. If you choose to arrive prior to Sunday, September 11th, we do ask that you transfer to the specified hotel in Mumbai by Sunday the 11th so that we can get an early start on Monday, September 12th.

We will continue to monitor COVID related travel requirements. Currently, as of February 2022, Mumbai International Airport does not have any testing or quarantine requirements for full vaccinated travelers from the United States. We will continue to monitor this situation.

7. Do I need a visa to enter India?

Visas are required for travel to India. The Commercial Service does not provide any assistance on necessary travel visas for India. However, it is our understanding that business visas are currently being processed, and we recommend that you contact the closest Indian Embassy or Consulate for further guidance.

We recommend that you apply for the appropriate visa type at least one month prior to departure.

8. What about domestic travel within India?

We are making recommendations on various flight options between cities that allow us to complete scheduled activities for each city. We welcome your feedback and will have a second look at the travel times if there are concerns. It is your responsibility to book and ticket your own domestic flights. CS will arrange for all ground transportation as indicated in the Trade Mission program. Any ground transportation outside of those as defined will be at your own cost.

The one-day visit to Bengaluru is probably going to be the most challenging. To make the most of the day, we have made some programing choices that limit practical departure times which are also impacted by airline schedules. We will be discussing this with delegates so that we balance the need to get the job done with the needs of the individuals that are joining the Trade Mission. India is about 1/3rd larger than the continental United States, and it does take time to get from place to place!

To be crystal clear, the U.S. Government will do what we can to arrange for expedite services at as many airports as possible, but this would be limited to only a few flight options. If you and your colleagues choose an alternative flight, we may not be able to guarantee this extra level of service. Also, we take all efforts to choose venues relatively close to airports, to minimize ground transit times yet provide an excellent venue for your meetings or events.

9. Will you be arranging hotel accommodations?

We are advising the hotels that will be providing venues for many of our meetings and events to block rooms for the delegation. This is dependent on us having a full, timely, and accurate count of travelers from the participating institutions. We will provide instructions prior to you making travel arrangements on how to access this block of rooms and any favorable room rates we are able to negotiate on behalf of the delegation.

We understand if you choose to not stay at the specified hotel at any of the Trade Mission city stops. We would like to know where you are staying in case of emergency or other scenario that requires us to contact you quickly when not attending Trade Mission events or functions.
If there are special needs for any individual traveler, please advise your travel planner. Generally, the Commercial Service staff is not authorized to ask for confidential or highly personal information. However, if there are strong concerns, we are happy to discuss this with you and we will strive to do our best to help your travel arranger in accommodating individual delegates’ needs.

Upon arrival at the hotel in your city of first arrival there will be a welcome kit supplied by the CS team. Each kit will include details of the Trade Mission schedule, along with important contact phone numbers and other helpful information. If you are not provided with a welcome kit upon arrival, please ask the CS team, and one will be provided.

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Contact Us

Gabriela Zelaya
International Trade Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service, San Jose
Email Gabriela Zelaya 
408-335-9202

Pinki Thakker
International Trade Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service, Kansas City
Email Pinki Thakker
816-266-3853

LeeAnne Haworth 
International Trade Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service, Pittsburgh
Email LeeAnne Haworth
412-445-2919