A country that has the largest youth population in the world will also naturally have the most potential and talent that needs to be nurtured and given a platform to grow. For the past 15 years, I.I.M.U.N. has been that platform in India that nurtures and creates young leaders. Young leaders that not only have an understanding of India but also a global perspective and vision. In the past 15 years, I.I.M.U.N. has been able to impact nearly 75 million students and build a presence across 275+ cities in India and 40+ countries across the world.
Above all, this has been possible due to the efforts of a pan-India team of young people who organize and execute the events for the organization. Thus, as a youth-run organization, I.I.M.U.N. believes that since talent is universal, opportunity should be as well. In 2025, when India-USA relations were at their lowest, I.I.M.U.N. and its team of young leaders organized I.I.M.U.N. ‘s very first leadership tour in the USA. Ambitious in scope, we went to 5 cities in the USA for a period of 15 days and had over 40 engagements with luminaries and experts from different fields. In a day and age where the gap between academia and industry continues to grow, a tour like this provided exposure to 11 exceptional young Indians by giving them a chance to interact directly with top leaders in various fields.
Students had the opportunity to interact with the Second Lady of the United States, Mrs. Usha Vance, senior leaders from the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, while also participating in engagements at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks, Citi Bank, Bank of America and several other globally respected institutions.
For students studying economics and finance, stepping into the offices of global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund was a transformative experience. Standing in the hallways of the very same buildings where crucial global economic decisions are made was a chance that very few get. Also, being able to enter the boardrooms of New York’s and the world’s top banks and interacting with leaders from Citi Bank, Bank of America, Federal Reserve Bank gave students an insight into how economics and finance transforms into actual impact on ground. Sipping coffee in Starbucks’ headquarters while asking questions to the leaders who decide the strategy and vision for the company globally is an experience unlike any other and has left a significant impact on the students who were on this tour.
From interacting with the state supreme court judges to leaders from tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon to meeting the general manager of the Hilton, the curator of the MET, editors of major newspapers like New York Times and Wall Street Journal and finally the Second Lady of the United States, students truly had a chance to understand and learn from leaders from all walks of life. This tour wasn’t about any particular industry or field but rather about learning from the best in every sector and field. It is the incredible success of this inaugural edition of I.I.M.U.N. ‘s USA Leadership Tour 2025, that has led us to also organize and plan the second edition of the USA Leadership Tour which will be taking place in September 2026.
As has been the organization’s approach over the last 15 years, we aim to make it bigger and more ambitious than the previous edition. In the second edition we will be selecting 15 exceptional young Indians who will be travelling with us for 20 days to 8 cities across the United States. Just like the last tour, the students will be completely sponsored by I.I.M.U.N. which will include their travel, accommodation, food and any other expenses. The focus of the tour is the growth and development of these young Indians who come from diverse backgrounds and are from various cities in India. Many of these students are from tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the country and thus will bring an unique perspective to the conversations we will be having with leaders in the United States.
During the first edition of the tour we reached out to leaders from all fields and it was a pleasant surprise to see that a lot of the luminaries we ended up interacting with during the tour were in fact of Indian origin! Regardless of the field or sector, Indians have reached important positions in various organizations and companies in the United States. This showed the potential and talent of Indians and their ability to succeed in the most competitive and demanding industries globally. If possible, we would like to call on exceptional Indians residing in the USA who have excelled in their fields and have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the next generation of Indians. This upcoming second edition of the USA Leadership Tour is more ambitious in scope and even more hopeful of the impact it will have not only on the students but also on strengthening the ties between India and USA.
