Last year the United Kingdom was the partner country. This year Canada beat other countries vying for partner status, said Husain F Neemuchwala, chair, Canada-India Business Council Education Committee and president, International Center for Education.
Canada is being represented by the C-IBC and the delegation will be led by Neemuchwala and Kam Rathee, acting director, C-IBC.
One of the aims of the mission is to continue the momentum built -- in part with the C-IBC's help --in partnerships between Canadian and Indian educational institutions.
The Canadian delegation, Rathee said, include prominent colleges and universities like MacEwan College, Memorial University, University of Lethbridge, McMaster Univgersity, Michener Institute, Dalhousie University, Centennial College, University of Saskatchewan and the Quebec Ministry of International Relations.
The Canadian 'Ed-Mission 2008' was to leave for India November 16. It was to visit Mumbai and Bengaluru before attending the FICCI summit in New Delhi.
Rathee said Canada's partner-country status is the result of two years of hard work when theC-IBC organized two seminars, 'Canada and India: A Synergy in Education' in July 2007 and 'Synergy II' in June this year.
The C-IBC has support from the education wing of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Canada has started stressing on education as a trade catalyst with colleges and universities traveling to India and other countries in increasingly large numbers for recruiting students and faculty, signing agreements with foreign universities to work in close partnerships, opening satellite campuses in India, and offering joint degrees.