Why Puebla

Mexico's University City, Two Hours from the Capital

Our View

Puebla is new to The Student World EXPO Mexico in 2027. Few Mexican cities concentrate as many respected private universities and schools per inhabitant, and the city's German automotive industry has created a bilingual, internationally minded upper-middle class. Puebla is close enough to Mexico City to fit easily into the tour and distinct enough to bring a new audience of students and counselors.

FPP can also arrange meetings with bilingual local school counselors and visits to selected schools in the days around the event. If this is of interest, please book these services with your FPP representative well in advance.

Puebla is the capital of the state of the same name and the centre of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Mexico, with more than 3 million inhabitants. Its colonial centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city sits at the foot of the Popocatépetl volcano, about two hours by road from Mexico City.

Academic Profile & Student Mindset

Puebla is known in Mexico as a university city. It is home to the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), one of the largest public universities in the country, and to a remarkable group of private institutions: UDLAP (Universidad de las Américas Puebla), UPAEP, Tec de Monterrey Campus Puebla, Ibero Puebla and Anáhuac Puebla.

This concentration shapes the local culture: families invest heavily in education, private schools are strong (American, German and French curriculum schools, IB programs and traditional Catholic schools) and students arrive at the end of high school used to academic competition and comfortable in English.

Economy and Families

Puebla has been the home of Volkswagen in Mexico since the 1960s, and Audi opened its first plant in the Americas in the state in 2016. Together with a large network of German and international suppliers, this created a stable base of engineers, executives and entrepreneurs with international careers and a natural affinity with Germany and Europe, in addition to the United States and Canada.

Study Abroad Culture

Students from Puebla look mainly to the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and France. Demand is strong for engineering (especially automotive, mechanical and industrial), business and international trade, architecture and design, medicine and health sciences, and gastronomy and hospitality, fields in which the city itself has a reputation.

For universities with engineering, business and design programs, and for German and European institutions in particular, Puebla is a focused, high-quality market where international recruiters are still rare and counselors welcome direct contact.

Culture and Quality of Life

Puebla is one of Mexico's most beautiful cities, famous for its Talavera ceramics, its baroque churches and its cuisine (mole poblano and chiles en nogada were born here). It is safe, compact and easy to reach from Mexico City.

Photos: Zócalo de Puebla by Luisalvaz (CC0); Popocatépetl desde el centro de Puebla by Luis Alvaz (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.