I recently visited IILM as a guest lecturer. It was my first visit to India in general and the experience was absolutely amazing – both from a personal and professional perspective.

I was teaching “Competing Globally” for post-graduate students and particularly a subject like that is inspirational to teach in an international and cross-cultural setting. As a Dane I come from a tiny country with a small economy and a very homogeneous society. India on the other hand is one of the world’s most dynamic economies and one of the big players globally and much more diverse. It was very fruitful for me to exchange ideas about the global economy, international business etc. with both students and colleagues alike. The main aim as an educator is obviously that the students learn from you, but personally I see it as a bonus if I can learn from my students as well. The very bright post graduate students taught me a lot of things that I take with me back home to Denmark. Their knowledge about India’s role in the world economy, dealing with India from a cultural perspective and specific Indian companies and cases were particularly beneficial and useful for me. The students were very engaged and knowledgeable and had one of the most important values at all: curiosity.

I would like to thank both the students and the faculty for their great hospitality during my visit. You feel very welcome as a guest lecturer. During my stay the Distinguished Global Thinker Award was given to Professor Ashish Nanda. It was very interesting to take part in the award ceremony, hear his lecture and the Q&A session afterwards…AND to taste all the delicious Indian food in the garden afterwards. Generally I believe that exchanges like this are mutually beneficial, but in particular within the area of business in this era of globalization.

I stayed at the Gurgaon Campus whereas the teaching was carried out at the Lodhi Road Campus. Both the accommodation and the very helpful staff at Gurgaon made me feel “home away from home”, and my colleagues at Lodhi Road were very hospitable and inspiring to exchange ideas with.

From a personal perspective I had the chance to visit both Agra and Jaipur, which were great experiences. I look forward to visiting India again sometime in the future.

Jens Karbo
Senior Lecturer
Business Academy Aarhus
University of Applied Sciences