New EducationUSA Center Inaugurated at Y-Axis Foundation, Hyderabad
Hyderabad: The U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad inaugurated India’s newest EducationUSA center on March 5, 2021 at the Y-Axis Foundation in Hyderabad. The new center will provide U.S. higher educational advising to prospective students free of charge. U.S. Consul General Joel Reifman, Y-Axis Foundation founder Xavier Augustin, and Minister Counselor for Public Affairs David Kennedy from the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi all attended the launch event.
The EducationUSA center at the Y-Axis Foundation, a non-profit organization, is the newest addition to the EducationUSA network in India and is situated in the heart of Hyderabad. This is a unique and innovative collaboration in that EducationUSA has established ties with a private educational consulting foundation to expand its services, which is a testament to the Y-Axis Foundation’s high-quality advising standards and ability to reach a large number of young women and men interested in studying in the United States.
Located on Road No. 36 in Jubilee Hills, the EducationUSA center at Y-Axis Foundation has a library that houses a collection of books, magazines, DVDs, and other print and electronic reference resource materials about higher education in the United States. Over the past two years, the U.S. Embassy has provided Y-Axis Foundation with expert training so that they are able to apply quality and ethical methodology to their student advising.
The five new advisers at the Y-Axis Foundation’s EducationUSA center are part of a robust Indian network of eight centers and over 30 advisers in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. This is the second EducationUSA center in Hyderabad. United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), which is also the Fulbright Commission in India, administers the other EducationUSA center that is co-located at the U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad, serving students in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.
“The United States has over 4,000 colleges and universities, and I am confident these talented EducationUSA advisers at the Y-Axis Foundation can find the best fit for every student,” said Consul General Reifman. “The United States is by far the destination of choice for Indian students: it has the best schools in the world, the best curricula, the best practical training opportunities, research options, cutting-edge technology, access to international networks, extensive international student support, generous funding prospects, and a lifelong connection between both countries.”
“As a product of the U.S. higher education system, I am a strong believer of what studying on an American campus and living in the United States can do,” said Y-Axis Foundation CEO Xavier Augustin. “My master’s in international business at the University of South Carolina and my time at Harvard Business School has defined me, my business, and my career. Indian students who have gone to study have not only transformed themselves into Global Indians but also their impact can be seen in the ideas, capital, and network that is exchanged between the two countries and the world. The Y-Axis Foundation partnership with EducationUSA allows us to fulfill our purpose of creating Global Indians and make the world a better place.”
What is EducationUSA?
EducationUSA is the U.S. Department of State’s global network of more than 430 international student advising centers located in over 175 countries around the world. EducationUSA is supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State.
EducationUSA advising centers actively promote U.S. higher education around the world by offering accurate, current, and comprehensive information about educational institutions in the United States and guidance to prospective international students on how best to access those opportunities. Millions of prospective students learn about U.S. study opportunities through EducationUSA advising centers each year. Centers are staffed by professional advisers who adhere to ethical standards established by ECA. All EducationUSA advisers have first-hand experience studying in the United States and/or have received State Department-approved training about U.S. higher education and the advising process. They do not serve as agents or recruiters and do not partner in any way with agents who are compensated on a commission basis. The EducationUSA network also includes Regional Educational Advising Coordinators (REACs) in each world region, who provide leadership, monitoring, support, training, and guidance to advisers on behalf of ECA.
What is the Y-Axis Foundation?
Y-Axis Foundation is a corporate social responsibility initiative of Y-Axis, India’s largest overseas career consulting company, which has been helping students, professionals, and families become Global Indians since 1999. The EducationUSA center, one of the initiatives undertaken by Y-Axis Foundation to promote U.S. higher education, provides free advising services about U.S. higher education. Y-Axis Foundation’s EducationUSA center provides students with tools and guidance to navigate their path to studying in the United States.
Almost 200,000 Indians studied in the United States last year, and many of them are from the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. One in four Telugu families has a U.S. connection, mostly through higher education in the United States. The strong ties between this region of India and the United States have created an increased demand for education advising from students in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. As a result, the U.S. Department of State sought out a partner who shared the U.S. Government’s high standards for ethics and quality: the Y-Axis Foundation.
Y-Axis Foundation, like all new EducationUSA advising centers, underwent a certification process. The REAC worked with the Consulate, Embassy, ECA, USIEF, and the new center’s leadership and advising staff to ensure that the center met quality standards and expectations of services to be provided as part of the EducationUSA network. After this assessment and training process was completed, Y-Axis Foundation was officially certified as an EducationUSA advising center.
Why Study in the United States?
The United States offers a wide array of quality educational institutions, from large public and research universities to liberal arts and community colleges, situated in diverse geographic regions across the country. International students learn from world-class professors who respect students’ views and encourage their questions and dialogue. Students partake in social, cultural, and volunteer activities as well as sports within an environment that promotes student health and safety. U.S. universities provide the chance to be part of a diverse, inclusive community together with Americans and other international students, experiencing life in a dynamic American city or a unique “college town.”
This exchange of students is the backbone of the strong and growing people-to-people ties between the United States and India. Indian students add diverse perspectives, skills, and experiences to American classrooms. Both countries benefit economically from this exchange, as these U.S. graduates go on to do research, start companies, and create new jobs in the United States and India.