Patna (BiharTimes): There has been a substantial increase in the number of Indian students joining academic instutions of United States of America (USA) in last one year."About 1.13 Lakh Indian students had joined academic institutions of USA. This increase is about 28 percent from last year" said American Centre deputy director Greg Pardo on Tuesday.in Patna.

With the aim of encouraging young students to pursue higher education in the United States, the Education USA Alumni Roadshow is travelling to four cities – Guwahati, Kolkata, Ranchi and Patna from November 4 to December 9, 2014.

After a successful run in Guwahati, Kolkata and Ranchi, the Roadshow took place in Patna on December 9th where the Deputy Director of the American Center-Kolkata Greg Pardo, along with exchange alumni Shubham Kumar, Akash Prasad, Aashna Doshi, Benazir Manzar, Md. Najmuzamman and Anupam Kumar, interacted with over 25 schools and colleges at a day-long program held at the Hotel The Panache. 

 The alumni spoke with the students about their experience studying at U.S. educational institutions – life on campus, extracurricular activities they had an opportunity to engage in, holidays and festivals they celebrated, dorm life, grading systems, making friends, staying connected with family back home, food, community service and other anecdotal experiences that are part of the study abroad experience. 

 Through such programs, the U.S. Consulate Kolkata hopes to forge a long-term relationship with U.S. State Department Exchange alumni from east and northeast India who have attended various exchange programs such as-- Study of the U.S. Institute for Scholars (SUSI), Community College Initiative Program (CCI), Youth Exchange and Study (YES) and Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program (NESA UGRAD). 

 The Deputy Director of the American Center-Kolkata Greg Pardo attended and moderated the program and interacted with the media afterwards.