Creating a two-way traffic in education1

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 | Filed under Education

It was Rudyard Kipling the writer who wrote in 1889 that “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.”

That observation, in so many ways, remains true today. The East and West are poles apart, two vastly different civilisations.

However, regardless of their differences, the East and the West are forever sealed as two sides of the same coin.

Bridging the two sides of the coin is a major reason for Limkokwing University to be in London, Botswana, Lesotho, Cambodia, Indonesia, China and Swaziland. More campuses in more regions are on the way, including one that is being planned in New York.

Together, our campuses have over 30,000 students who come from more than 150 countries.

As well, we have built up a collegial network that spans 170 universities and colleges in 70 countries in support of our “Global Classroom” concept. It is easily one of the largest university networks in the world.

Through the Global Classroom programme, Limkokwing students could experience campus life in several countries by opting to study one semester or longer at different partner universities en route to completing their degrees.

Students immersed in this kind of international environment will have the opportunity to make friends from around the world and build the wide networking that will give them the competitive edge in their careers.

In interacting with students from so many different countries, they will gain in confidence. In having friends from so many countries, they will acquire a global mindset and enhance their universal appeal.

Knowing only half the story

Right from the beginning when we planned this university, we wanted to create a two-way traffic in education between Asia and the world. Not one way, with the students heading West but two-way with students heading East too.

We believed it was important to reverse the flow because an education with a Western bias is no longer sufficient in the world today.

In today’s reality with eastern economies such as Japan, China, South Korea and India challenging the Western economies for global leadership, a strictly Western-centric education is no longer sufficient even for people living in the West.

If you know only one side of the world but not the other, you will spend your lives knowing only half the story, seeing only half the picture and missing out on half the opportunities.

The people in the West must want to know why the East is rising so rapidly and how this shift in the balance of economic power is going to impact on their countries and their future.

To those living in the East, the ways of the West are very important because this region is home to the world’s richest nations and the world’s most innovative economies. These countries dictate whether economies around the world expand or decline.

The increasing connectivity of economies and the convergence of ways of life across the world is the clearest result of the globalisation phenomenon.

Our presence in three continents, and growing, is part of this advancing globalisation.