One day in Pune

I was grateful for the day off on Monday having worked the entire weekend. I took advantage by sleeping in a little longer as I was feeling a little bit under the weather, perhaps the change in climate and diet, but the rest was very much welcome.

I had a short two hour flight down to Pune and arrived at my hotel for around 7pm, located in the busy hub of Pune’s main MG (Mahatma Ghandi) Street. I took a walk along the hussle and bussle of this croweded shopping district and saw much in the way of how India thrives in trade.Gold, spices, fabric stores, fashion chains, brand sports stores such as Nike and Adidas. There was literally no vacant shop, no sign economic downturn on MG Street!

I had an unsettled night and found it hard to sleep, I think largely because I was sat in front of my laptop till the early hours and eventually managed about four hours sleep.

The following day at the fair I was pleased to see a more intimate enviroment, less exhibitors and FSUSA was the exclusive vendor prompting higher education opportunities in the US.

This exhibition is billed as an international education fair for Indian students, but the international presence is minimal and to the advantage of the institutions I am representing.

As such I am only two cities in to the tour and my business cards or should I say 'visiting cards' are all but gone! I guess I will have to be less prudent with the Spring tour.

So far I have received around 120 completed enquiries from 3 exhibitions, how fun is that going to be emailing responses and forwarding information to my member institutions! I guess I won’t be sight seeing on the final leg of the Indian tour, the world famous Bombay, or Mumbai as it is known these days.

The road to Mumbai!

Delhi Delight!

Namaskaar from New Delhi, India.

I arrived the afternoon of 31st October - Halloween. Not that you would have guessed, but that isn't necssarily a surprise. Although I missed the traditional Halloween celebration, I was excited to be here to start the official inaugural FSUSA tour.





My driver treated me to some of the historic landmarks in Delhi on route to the hotel. All part of the service, but as I later found out a regular taxi would have cost me a third of the amount!

It was worth the personal attention as my driver took me on a guided tour of India Gate, Parliment, the Presidents residency, Lal Qila (Red Fort, as pictured above), street bazaars and places of worship.

All very majestic and awe inspiring impressions of a country with a incredible history and exotic, spiritual culture.

I was then given the mandatory tour on the back of a rickshaw weaving through the organised chaos of Friday afternoon traffic, I guess I should have been a little fearful but actually it was a bit of a thrill. Reminiscent of Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh and there were even aspects that reminded me of Izmir, Turkey from the streets and buildings that I observed.

So after a restful evening and a fantastic view from my hotel. I was ready to start the fair.

1-2 November

The Pragati Maidan is Delhi's major expo hall and no sooner had the fair commenced and the FSUSA booth was in full swing.






With no obvious competition promoting US Education there was a buzz of potential 'Future Students' interested in various higher education opportunities in the US.

The one consistant concern was that of the Indian education system based on fifteen years as opposed to sixteen, or in the case of a Masters degree, the Indian Bachelor degree is a 3 year degree which has divided opinion regarding acceptance and admission.

But more than 65,000 Indian students and the leading country that sends students to the US suggest it's not the biggest problem to overcome.

What is apparent about prospective students from India is how focused, academic and driven they are in pursuing their higher education ambitions and the mass majority have perfect English. They are the role model international student. was very much welcome.

The vast majority are seeking masters level education in, engineering, business and IT followed by hospitality and medical/health sciences.

I received more than 60 enquiries requesting specific further information and many of these students had no clear understanding of the admissions and application process. They found the information outlined on the Future Student USA website very helpful and its fair to say this first city tour has been a big hit.




Word is spreading that FSUSA is in the house.. LOL!



And to further support that claim I was selected for a short interview with a local news network covering this event. What kind of exposure and impact that will have I don't know, but needless to say if I am sent the link, it will be featured on the tour page of the website.

Next stop Pune.