About Canadian Education Centre (CEC) India

The Canadian Education Centre in New Delhi opened in April, 1997, following the Network’s first and very successful Canadian Education Fairs in South Asia in 1996.  CEC India has now been in operation for more than ten years in Delhi and 2 years in Bangalore. Located in the heart of New Delhi and Bangalore, the CEC has become a well-known information destination for students interested in studying in Canada.

In 2007, CEC India fielded over 50,000 inquires about studying in Canada not counting the page views received on our website for students. Walk in visitors have access to a comprehensive resource library and personal counselling to identify the programs that best match their needs. The CEC continues to run annual Canadian Education Fairs in major Indian cities. In 2007, Fairs in 4 cities and Forum in 3 cities attracted a total of 7000 visitors.

CEC also acts as a facilitator and brings Indian and Canadian institutions together for joint research and training projects. We are a designated proctoring agency for Canadian professional bodies such as Medical Council of Canada, Canadian Securities Industry, Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta as well as many Universities and Colleges.

In addition to serving students in person CEC India serves student populations across the country through its local language website, studycanada.ca/india. Providing both global and market-specific information about studying in Canada and CECN client Canadian schools, the site has become a popular online resource in the market.

Over the past ten years, CEC India’s contribution to opening the vast and complex Indian market to Canadian education institutions has been significant. From 1998-1999, student authorizations for Indians coming to Canada doubled from 477 to 943 and by last year, had exceeded 2,500 students per year. CEC India has been and continues to be a key advocate for the interests of Canadian schools recruiting in the Indian market.

About Maria Mathai (Director, CEC)

Ms Maria Mathai is the Director, CEC India and brings to the position more than 15 years experience in the field of education and development in India. She began her career as a teacher in a secondary school for seven years and moved on to work with ReadytoGo a portal which provided educational content aimed at senior grade students.

Moving from the online to the offline she joined Intel India’s Academic Relations and Community Development program. At Intel she worked to develop Academic Relations in the company with premier Engineering Institutes in India including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT’s) and erstwhile Regional Engineering Colleges. She was also responsible for Intel’s Community Development Project which involved using technology to empower the underserved youth in India.

Her education background includes a Master degree in Botany as well as Bachelors in Education from University of Delhi and Post Graduate Certificate in Acting, (Theatre) from Sri Ram Centre of Performing Arts, Delhi.

Through her background and rich experience of the Indian education system, Maria has been able to advise Canadian institutions and provinces on effective marketing strategies for India. She continues to help Canada build its International education presence by developing effective strategies to showcase the country and its institutions in India.

Internationally, she is a contributor to a group of academics from eleven different institutions in six provinces working collaboratively to address obstacles to doing academic business in India. In April 2008, Ms Mathai was one of only four Indian delegates invited to the 5th annual Canada-India Policy Dialogue held in New Delhi, India. In a follow up workshop in February 2009 she was a speaker and presented a paper on Market Penetration.

Recently participated in the programme - 'Rethinking Indian Education' - a round table all day discussion with selected educators & an hour with the HR Minister, Mr. K.Sibal, on 16.08.2009 at Delhi.