Asia – A Different Perspective
Every year, our EMBA class travels to Asia to explore the markets and culture of the region. In a recent lecture, Mr. Joo-Seuk Maing, Rochester-Bern’s EMBA Asia Advisor and CEO FIT Voltaira Group Korea/Vietnam, shared his experiences to set the mindset for the upcoming educational journey. This year, the students will immerse themselves in the exciting world of India. Why India was chosen as this year’s destination is explained in this blog post.
The EMBA students will visit Bangalore, the so-called Silicon Valley of India. “When I tell people I lived in Bangalore, people often react with: ‘this must have been so bad`. But most of the people who say this have never been there” says Maing. He thus emphasizes that India has much more to offer than many people think. Bangalore is the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka and the centre of India’s high-tech industry. It is also known for its parks and nightlife.
Maing challenges the EMBA class to move away from old ways of thinking and to open up to the perspective of people from Asia. And he starts with himself: “I was born in Germany, have lived in various countries in Asia and now live in Korea,” says Maing. People often ask him where he comes from and there are many possible answers. He therefore follows the recommendations: “Instead of asking people where they are from, ask them: Where do you feel local?”.
Observations show that many people have a very Europe-centered view of the world. This starts with the depiction of the world map: Europe is shown in the center. On an Asian map, Asia is in the center. In terms of population, this also make sense, as China and India alone have 2800 million people and therefore far more than Europe (750 million). This means that many more people experience the Asian reality than the European one.
During the session, Maing shared a video of the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in which he says this quite clearly. He says, “Europe must get away from the view, that Europe problems are world’s problems, but world problems are not Europe’s problems”. India and other Asian countries have gained more self-confidence, also due to the increased economic power.
The trip to India will therefore be about engaging with contemporary Asia and allowing a change of perspective. When Maing came to India, he asked himself: Will I be able to eat meat there? Will I be allowed to drink beer or wine and will I have a westernized social life? The answer to all these questions was found very quickly: yes! The dimensions of India are huge, and the diversity is also enormous – The EMBA class will experience this at first hand this year.
Check out this most interesting article by Joo-Seuk Maing: Geopolitics & Leadership in the Context of Rising Asia.