This is the last episode of Experiences of International Education. The journey comes full circle as the podcast concludes where it all began—with a conversation with Brandon Lee. In this episode, I take a turn to share my personal journey through international education. I also reflect on key insights gained from engaging with over 50 experts and practitioners from around the globe.

One of my biggest takeaways is that international education is not just a profession—it represents a shared, normative vision of how we can live together in a globally interconnected world. This community not only values and celebrates diversity but also recognizes its power to address the pressing challenges of our time, and help us becoming better versions of ourselves. This collective vision can sometimes be overshadowed by the demands of our daily work. My hope with this podcast series was to hold up a mirror to the international education community, reminding us of the incredible force for change and good that we can be when we work together.

Borhene shares the story of his first involvement in international education through a teacher training program in Tunisia and how the driving force behind his career has been the commitment to ensuring no one is left behind in education.

He explains how UNESCO is advancing the agenda of widening access to education, as outlined in SDG4 through a range of key initiatives. These include normative tools like conventions and recommendations, policy dialogues such as the High-Level Steering Committee that oversees SDG4 implementation, and the collection of data on education trends through resources like the Global Education Monitoring Report, which tracks progress toward SDG4 targets.

Borhene highlights the importance of the Global Recognition Convention as a key instrument for fostering international cooperation, stressing the need for an integrated ecosystem involving all key stakeholders in international education, including universities, quality assurance and qualification recognition bodies, and teachers’ associations. He also emphasized the role of the Convention in supporting lifelong learning by facilitating the recognition of learning achieved in diverse settings, including non-formal and informal contexts… and he shares his memorable involvement in the adoption of the 2015 Incheon Declaration, which for the first time included the lifelong learning agenda, as well as a project in Malawi aimed at providing foundational skills through community learning centers.

Andreas Corcoran, Deputy Secretary General of the International Association of Universities (IAU), shares his global education journey, which brought him to study in various European countries and the United States and culminated with postgraduate studies at the European University Institute in Fiesole, Florence. His professional steps after graduating took him to Canterbury in the UK and Rome as Director of Higher Education in charge of the academic and organisational development of a newly established university in Tanzania

Andreas reflects on the vital role IAU plays in fostering global dialogue and collaboration among universities, addressing key challenges like those related to the SDGs, articulating the continued value and relevance of higher education in today’s fast changing world, and overcoming competition in an increasingly commodified international higher education landscape. He also emphasizes the importance of adopting fair, ethical approaches to internationalization, advocating for the equitable circulation of knowledge, students… and shares the memorable experience of an elderly man in Kenya showing him the tree under which he received his first formal education, which reminded him of education’s critical role in nurturing curiosity and passing knowledge from one generation to the next.

Professor Andrew Atherton, Vice-President International and Engagement at the University of Southampton, tells how his involvement with international education started as an undergraduate student at SOAS where he studied Chinese and economics spending his second year in Beijing. His international experience continued studying his Masters’ at Yale University where he also started his academic career, before moving back to the UK to Durham University.

Andrew tells us of the University of Southampton’s strategic goal to become a global institution embracing a multi-nodal model with campuses in diverse international locations and progressing with establishing the first foreign branch campus in India under the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. He reflects on the broader strategic drivers behind the University's goal of establishing three branch campuses by 2030, stressing the role that TNE can play in helping institutions take their social mission to widen access to education to the global level. He shares his concerns about recent policy developments restricting international student flows in traditionally receiving anglophone countries, as well as his confidence in the future of international education where TNE will be playing a growing role in meeting growing global demand for education and training closer to home… and he shares the memorable experiences associated with achieving something collectively that you couldn't on your own.

Kyuseok Kim, Center Director at IES Abroad Seoul, tells us how his interest in international education began when as a teaching assistant at an international summer school program in South Korea, where he worked closely with a broad range of international faculty and students, and experience that contributed to his decision to work in the international education sector, including eventually at Suny Korea, the first and the largest US campus in South Korea, operating within Incheon Global Campus education hub.

KS shares his passion for facilitating transformative international education experiences for students, and how he has been able to put this passion into practice in his current work as the inaugural Director of IES Abroad Seoul. KS also shares his insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the internationalisation of the South Korean higher education sector, and South Korea’s ambition to become an international hub in Asia, pointing to the South Korea’s strategic need to attract more international students to offset the decline in the domestic student population. KS reflects on the impact of technology and AI to enhance the learning experience of students, foster more inclusive and diverse learning environments, and embed sustainability in education.

Charles Cormack, founder and managing director of Cormack Consultancy Group, tells us how his interest in international education began in 1999 when he started a company to support British companies working in Central and Eastern Europe. He soon discovered that there was a high demand for UK higher education, leading him to focus on TNE.

Charles reflects on how TNE will become increasingly important due to factors like migration pressures, the global climate crisis, and the potential of online learning. He advocates for equitable TNE partnerships, requiring universities to move away from a recruitment-focused mindset and towards genuine two-ways collaboration with partner institutions, considering the needs of host locations. Charles also shares his interest in the role of technology in making education more affordable and accessible, his work on a very successful twinning programme between UK and Ukrainian universities.., and the memorable experience of a conference in Warsaw marking the achievements of this twinning programme and being appointed to the board of Mariupol State University

Piet Van Hove, past president of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and current program manager of the Heroes European University Alliance at the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, tells how he was immersed in international education from a very young age, as he was born in the US whilst his father was completing his doctoral studies and moved back to the US for a year at the age of 10 where he attended an American primary school. After graduating from law school he began immediately working in international higher education.

Piet shares his concerns about the current political climate in many countries, which often view international higher education negatively, and emphasizes the importance of demonstrating the positive impact of international higher education on society as a whole, specifically its role in strengthening the social fabric by offering international and intercultural experiences to all students. Piet shares his experience as president of the EAIE, reflecting on key developments, challenges, and opportunities for European higher education, including the role that European University Alliances play in promoting international collaboration across all levels of higher education institutions… and he shares the memorable experience of an Erasmus Mundus program with South Africa and China where he witnessed the transformative impact of international education on students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Fanta Aw executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, tells us how her first exposure to international education started at a young age when she moved from Mali to Liberia and eventually Washington where she attended international schools with students from various countries. This experience instilled in her a lifelong appreciation for diverse cultures and a sense of global citizenship.

Fanta emphasizes the need to demonstrate the value of international education to society, particularly in a time of geopolitical tensions, stressing how international education fosters interconnectedness, enabling positive change through peaceful people-to-people exchanges. She highlights the need to address equity and access advocating for "internationalization at home" initiatives which can bring global perspectives to those unable to study abroad, and stresses the importance of creating spaces where diverse voices are heard, fostering respectful dialogue and addressing the root causes of fear and polarization in society… and she shares the feeling of gratitude for having been able to experience our shared humanity through the memorable human connections in international education.