Global Dialogues and Partnerships: Understanding and Tackling Complex Issues through Diverse Thinking

    Organizations like the British Columbia-India Business Network (BC-IBN) and British Columbia Council of International Education (BCCIE), helps build partnerships and co-host global dialogues by connecting post-secondary institutions, businesses, and agencies within Canada and India.. When asked about the importance of partnerships and global dialogue, BC-IBN Founder and CEO Vivek Savkur states that, “Unity is diversity, a singularity of purpose and spirit of cooperation is the mantra for a strong partnership.”

  SFU and BC-IBN has had a longstanding relationship with SFU staff, like SFU’s Associate Vice President of External Relations, Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan as the current Vice President of BC-IBN.

  In the BC-IBN and partner’s second episode of Leading the Way: Women in Post-Secondary Education, a panel of six women leaders from higher education institutions in BC and India will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Women leaders globally have demonstrated exemplary leadership during this time; we are fortunate to have this opportunity to listen and learn from their experience and reflections,” says Colin Doerr, British Columbia Council for International Education (BCCIE)’s External Relations Director and one of the event partners.

The individual experiences of the global panelists will bring together an international perspective on how the pandemic has affected respective institutions in Canada and India.  Global dialogues like the Leading the Way series allow for cross-cultural conversations that encourages diverse thinking and ideas that allows for a deeper understanding in complex issues. “Internationalization has far-reaching benefits to higher education as it enriches cross-border academic relations and strengthens people-to-people ties leading to cultural understanding. I believe that both academic partnership and global cultural orientation go hand-in-hand for any kind of successful partnership,” says Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director of Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and one of the panellists in Friday’s discussion panel.

This sentiment can be best summed up by Sobhana Jaya-Madhavan, SFU’s Associate Vice President, External Relations, Vice President of BC-IBN, and series moderator of the global panel discussion: “The Leading the Way series provides a virtual platform for us to appreciate diverse perspectives and strategies employed by leaders to assess and address challenges with empathy. These partnerships and cross-cultural dialogues strengthen the post-secondary education ecosystem, and therefore, I hope it continues post-pandemic.”