Based in Chandigarh, Sheekha already had fifteen years experience in human resources, recruitment and education when she started working with University HUB (UHUB) and Aura Educational Consulting (AURA).

Alongside running her own HR business, Sheekha now plays a key role bringing together individual student and also universities and colleges in northern India with UHUB’s partner colleges in the US, UK and Canada.

When she heard about the Women Entrepreneurship Program, Sheekha quickly recognised a great opportunity to capitalise on her skills, experience and contacts to develop a dynamic new business for herself and deliver a service students and professionals in the region could hugely benefit from.

What attracted Sheekha to working with UHUB-AURA was the chance to do more than simply connecting students with overseas study opportunities – but to help them to secure a place to study the right course, at the right educational institution, in the right country.

“Obviously, there is huge demand in India right now – and particularly here in Northern India – to secure places at overseas universities,” Sheekha says. “Leveraging UHUB-AURA’s extensive network of connections with higher education providers across the English-speaking world allows me to match students with – not just any study opportunity – but one that truly fits their character, their abilities and their career goals.”

Since she became a partner in the Program, Sheekha’s exceptional energy and personal commitment have led to her contributing many innovative ideas on how to forge new connections between students and educational establishments in India and around the world. She also brings a talent for making effective use of social media marketing skills. While her excellent communication skills have helped her establish and develop trusted relationships with students and partner organisations at all levels.

“Preparing people to apply for jobs and study placements is something I have plenty of experience with,” Sheekha says, “but working with UHUB-AURA enables me to take that to a new level. UHUB’s digital portal, their network of connections, and the huge amount of information they put at my fingertips on all the different courses available and the overseas universities and colleges who offer them enable me to offer a level of service to students and partners that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”

While generating additional income and building a new business for the future is an important part of the appeal for Sheekha. The real personal satisfaction comes with playing an instrumental part in helping students and professionals find the right undergraduate or postgraduate placements for their unique needs – and helping them along the path to achieving their goals in life.

“Offering the well-informed unbiased counsel is absolutely crucial to building a professional brand in the education space,” Sheekha says. “Word of mouth reputation is fundamentally important in this field, so providing people with options that are right for them is not simply the right thing to do ethically, it is also the right thing to do commercially. With the resources of UHUB-AURA behind me, I feel confident I can do the best for the students I counsel and for our partners in the education sector.”