2 weeks ago (23rd and 24th June, to be accurate) I got to catch up with professor Dickinson and May from the Cambodia conference back in March and the Burmese GT crew the next day. It was a welcome change from what is sometimes admittedly the monotony of daily life where I see literally the same people for weeks or sometimes months on end at work and then occupy most of my spare time with online courses (although my local gym seems to have somewhat of a rotating roster of members). Dr. Dickinson was in Yangon for a conference on higher education with university faculty from all across Myanmar, and she talked about promoting and implementing project-based learning techniques at the university level. It was cool to hear about the many challenges for international collaboration regarding education reform, such as different thought paradigms and various bureaucratic obstacles. We also had a lot of fun talking about all sorts of other things though, including but limited to May’s plans for graduate school, the Marvel cinematic universe, and lots of intra-ASEAN politics. I also got to address my concerns regarding my future career plans and grad school.

Sunday dinner with the Georgia Tech crew was lots of fun too. I was glad to know that everyone was doing okay, and that the number of Georgia Tech applicants from Myanmar has surged significantly since we showed up. Apparently a valedictorian from an international school here got in? One thing I know for sure, however, is that our motley crew of 4 is only going to get bigger over time. Hopefully we can form a formal GT alumni network/chapter in Myanmar someday.

GT alumni and current students from Myanmar, June 24.

Signing off,

Shwe

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