In today's interconnected world, collaboration between universities across borders is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. By working together, we can share knowledge and resources, develop innovative solutions to global challenges, and prepare our students to be successful citizens of the world. Following the tradition of fostering international collaboration in higher education, the American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB) held a virtual meeting on Thursday, 2^nd of May 2024 with the Sasin School of Management (Sasin), a leading graduate institution in Thailand, renowned for its excellence in business education. Founded in 1982, Sasin itself was a result of international collaboration between Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), Kellogg School of Management (USA), and Wharton Business School (USA), eventually becoming the first business school in the country to gain international accreditation.

The virtual meeting aimed to explore potential avenues for collaboration between the two institutions, engaging in a comprehensive discussion focusing on collaborative initiatives that could benefit students and faculty alike. Dr. Carmen Z. Lamagna, the member of the Board of Trustees at AIUB, initiated the meeting, leading to an insightful meeting with Prof. Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman, the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr. Farheen Hassan, the Director of the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Dr. Mohammad Faridul Alam, the Director of Graduate Programs in the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA), Dr. Rezbin Nahar, the Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA), and Ms. Shama Islam, the Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) and the Special Assistant in the Office of the Vice Chancellor (OVC) and Student Affairs (OSA), on behalf of AIUB. Dr. Piyachart Phiromswad, the Associate Professor of Finance and the Deputy Director of Learning Solutions at Sasin, represented the institution at the meeting, highlighting prospective areas of mutual benefit to further the strategic partnership between Sasin and AIUB. Both institutions shared an overview of Sasin and AIUB with a short documentary and presentation that was screened during the meeting. The meeting delved into various aspects of the collaboration, including jointly developing and offering educational programs that leverage the strengths of both institutions, providing students with a well-rounded and internationally recognized education, facilitating both academic and cultural exchanges of students and staff, providing them with an opportunity to broaden their horizons by sharing diverse knowledge, ideas, and experiences, for progressive growth of individuals and institutions alike, as well as encouraging collaboration on innovative research projects of mutual interest, enabling a more in-depth cooperation on expertise, skills, and resources.

Both Sasin and AIUB are committed to synergize their global engagement, expressing their interest in formalizing the alliance through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Together, they aim to enhance the quality of education, enable students with a world-class education that prepares them for success in the globalized job market, promote a culture of innovation in teaching, research, and scholarship, and equip future-ready graduates with the knowledge, skills, and global mindset necessary to thrive in an interconnected world. And both institutions of higher education (HEIs) are gearing their combined efforts to achieve just that in the long run. The success of partnerships between HEIs across borders, like that of Sasin and AIUB, is contingent on universities working together to create a more enriching and impactful educational experience for their students and contribute to the advancement of knowledge on a global scale in the near future.