LifeInBitesAndBytes

Our First Lecture, Our Shared Journey: Teaching in a True Knowledge Society

From the very first moment I stepped into the classroom to teach my MBA students here in IBU Canada, I sensed something extraordinary was beginning.

It was not just the energy in the room, it was the world itself, gathered in one space. Within minutes of our icebreaker session, I found myself listening to stories from Mexico, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, India, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, Iran, Sri Lanka and Australia, and beyond. Engineers turned entrepreneurs, healthcare leaders stepping into management, seasoned professionals reinventing their careers, each carrying not just qualifications, but lifetimes of cultural insight, resilience, and vision.

In my 18 years of teaching across Asia, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe, I have always looked for that common thread, the human connection that binds a classroom together. Sometimes it took weeks to uncover. But here, it clicked instantly.

Because our shared ground was not sameness, it was diversity itself. The fact that we all come from different shores, speak different languages at home, celebrate different festivals, and carry different histories, that became our strength. In this room, difference is not a barrier. It is the curriculum. Every perspective adds depth. Every experience enriches our collective understanding of leadership, strategy, and human behaviour in a global context.

This is what a true knowledge society feels like, not a lecture hall where knowledge flows one way, but a dynamic circle where everyone teaches and everyone learns. Where a case study on cross-cultural negotiation is not abstract, it is lived, debated, and refined by voices who have navigated those complexities firsthand.

As their facilitator, I am not just guiding. I am growing alongside them. Their questions challenge me. Their insights inspire me. And their commitment to mutual learning reminds me why education, at its best, is a collaborative act of hope.

To my remarkable MBA students at IBU. Thank you for bringing your whole selves to this journey. You have shown me, in just one lecture, that when the world gathers with openness and purpose, the classroom becomes a microcosm of the future we are trying to build, one rooted in equity, curiosity, and shared humanity.

Our journey has only just begun. And I could not be more excited to walk it with you.