Advisor (India) to the President, University of Alberta,

Ms Maria Mathai, has over 18 years of experience in the Indian education sector and of that last 8 years has been in International education focused on India-Canada educational exchanges. Prior to her current position as Director, M.M Advisory Services, Maria served as the Director of the Canadian Education Centre in India set up with support from Government of Canada to promote Canada as an education destination.

As Director of M?M Advisory Services, Maria is regularly invited as a speaker at several education Seminars/ roundtables in India and Canada. She actively contributes to India- Canada educational partnerships through building better awareness of India among Provinces in Canada. .

During her tenure as Director, Canadian Education Centre in India from 2005 to 2009, Maria produced the first detailed report on the Indian international education market with a focus on secondary schools titled "India Education Market Report - Current Status & Opportunities". The report was commissioned by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, British Columbia.

Maria was instrumental in setting up education outsourcing model for a Centennial College to provide services to Indian students, which led to increased student registrations and is now an independent office of Centennial College in India. She was also the official Administrator for the Ontario - Maharashtra Goa scholarship program run by the Ministry of Training Colleges & Universities, Ontario till December 2009.

Maria started her career in the education sector as teacher at Naval Public School, New Delhi and obtained her Bachelor and Masters Degrees at University of Delhi.