A delegation from American universities is scheduled to visit 26 institutions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. This visit is of great significance in light of a recent spate of attacks on Indian students and those of Indian origin in different parts of the nation.

The delegation is a continuation of the recent efforts led by the governments of the United States and India to collaborate and pursue mutually beneficial strategies. In the past year, the respective presidents and prime ministers of the two countries visited each other, reaffirming the US-India Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership.

“We will have the opportunity to meet with 26 Indian institutions to talk about collaboration, mobility of students and scholars between our two countries and securing and fostering enduring partnerships between institutions,” A. Sarah Ilchman, co-president of Institute of International Education (IIE), told PTI in an interview before leaving for India.

“Indian students and scholars in the US now are at record numbers and it's very exciting to watch close to 270,000 Indian students on US campuses and about 17,000 Indian scholars in the US right now. So, it's an exciting time to be engaging with India and Indian institutions to try to further increase this engagement and collaboration,” she said. 

Representatives from various universities including California State University, Long Beach, University of California, Berkeley, DePaul University, University of California, Davis, East Tennessee State University, University of Houston, Florida International University, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State University, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mississippi State University, University of Missouri, Montclair State University, University of Rochester, Oklahoma State University, University of Tulsa, and Rutgers University will be a part of the IIE Leadership Delegation to India from February 25 to March 2. 

India has over 1.4 billion people, with more than 40% of the population under 25 years old. The demand for education in India is higher than the supply available in the country. The delegates will meet with Indian government officials, visit US consulates, and explore universities such as the Indian School of Business, IIT Hyderabad, Mahindra University, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, and Somaiya Vidyavihar University. They will discuss topics such as the establishment of international branch campuses in India, the impact of ed-tech in Indian higher education, and the higher education business landscape.