Be open to accidental encounters and unexpected opportunities. Visit people where they live, see their universities, get to know their families, and keep in touch over the years.

"I still have this imagined idea that we met somewhere in between McGuinn and the Lynch school, on the street, but it might also be that we were maybe on a joint event or something like that. we met and talked and was clear that we had, several joint interests in the field." - Hans

There has never been a master plan. Ask questions. Foster an environment where everyone contributes to the work. Engage graduate students as colleagues. Mentor the next generation of scholars and leaders.

"There's never been a master plan… the grad students have ideas about what we should be doing and we either do them or not, depending on if it's practical." - Phil

"I find it most rewarding when I have been able to help them with their PhD or their master thesis and have been successful… I have a strong international network of people who I consider much more as friends than us colleagues. That's so rewarding." - Hans

"That was the case when Phil was the director. That was the case when Hans was the director. It's the case now, and I think it will always be the case because the next generation is involved." - Rebecca

A small research center can have an outsized impact when it is resourceful. Smallness in size, when complemented with a broad network and effective collaboration, yields significant impact and influence.

"People used to come to the center and look around our offices, which are even as we speak today, very small, but wondering where our staff was, and I would tell them, ‘You're looking at it.’" - Phil

"He could take the tiniest budget and turn it into something incredibly long-lasting or incredibly multi-dimensional in its outputs on the basis of his own hard work, his enthusiasm, and his lack of need for a lot of money." - Laura

"They were really surprised, always when they saw that this was our office... but we always then said, it might look like a weakness, but it is a strength." - Hans

Ask questions. Maintain a child-like curiosity. Build a culture that values continuous experimentation. Expand your knowledge of the world. Never stop exploring. ​

"And he is one of the most prominent people I know that will genuinely ask you, What are you doing?' 'What do you think?' and 'What would you do in my situation?'" - Laura

"I have a lot of ideas, and, many of them, I push, and the only small percentage of that is happening, but it is much better to do that than having just one or two ideas in your life and, even if you're not always successful or too limited in your approach." - Hans

New technologies open new forms of communication, collaboration, and dissemination of knowledge.

"In the early days of the internet, I mean the very early days, one of my doc students came to me and said, ‘Hey, Phil, we should put this on the internet and have a website.' And this was when websites were not common. And I said, if it doesn't take too much time, go ahead, have fun . And it turned out to be one of the most important things we did, of course." - Phil

"Now it's impossible to think of the work that we do. Without leveraging these new emerging technologies that are not so emerging." - Gerardo

Open access is essential to engage and share knowledge from — and relevant to — underrepresented regions and broaden our understanding of international higher education.

"We were committed from the first that it should be free – that access to International Higher Education should not cost anything to anybody." - Phil

Get real. Find a balance between conducting methodologically sound research and ensuring its relevance to non-academic audiences. in the world of higher education and beyond.

"I also think there are other stakeholders for higher education that we're not even considering yet. Think that's going to be kind of a next level set of considerations to have for the future." - Gerardo

Communicate insights and knowledge beyond academia. Learn to write in a way that speaks to policymakers, government officials, and the public with actionable insights to influence decision-making on issues that matter.

"I've always thought that was very important to engage with a broader higher ed audience and if possible, even in broader general audience around something which I think I knew about, which is higher education." - Phil

Advocating for critical issues without claiming ownership fosters a more inclusive and dynamic field.

"How do we advocate, how do we push for something without owning it? I never would want to be the person that owns or gate keeps knowledge on a particular area... Because once you own it, you limit new possibilities." - Gerardo

The growth and development of the field is enhanced by the creation of domestic educational centers in regions previously underrepresented. By focusing on domestic contexts and encouraging unique perspectives, we enrich the collective understanding of global higher education.

"One of the ways that the field has grown has been actually the creation of higher education centers, that study higher education domestically, but in places where they haven't done it before." - Rebecca