Leighton Ernsberger, British Council, East Asia
Introduce yourself in three words or phrases
Curious, mobile, excelling.
What do you like most about your job?
Working with people in so many different jobs. That also goes for when I was based in India. India is continental in size, so you can either find differences in terms of how people behave and act that is alienating, or you can see it as energising. I just love it.
Best work trip/ worst work trip
My best work trip first trip was to South Korea. You always have a vision of yourself what you do and where you might be. When I went to South Korea, I had no expectations or preconceptions, and it was brilliant.
As for the worst work trip, I don’t think I’ve been to a place I haven’t enjoyed being in, but sometimes getting somewhere is a bloody nightmare. So there are too many of those there to list.
If you could learn a language instantly, what you pick and why?
It’s a toss up between Kannada and Hindi. But the one that would be most rewarding is Kannada.
What makes you get up in the morning?
Family.
Champion/cheerleader that we should all follow and why?
Tribe Called Quest. I know I’m really dated in that sense, but these are people who I followed who were big back in the ’90s.
I went to a restaurant in Hong Kong that had amazing food; I also went to a super average American restaurant, but it was because they were playing 1990s hip-hop music. It was the first time I had listened to Tribe Called Quest in a long time, and it’s just amazing.
You never want to look too closely into your superheroes and stars because, maybe there’s something going on, but sometimes the music just takes you into a great place. So, follow your musical lines.
Best international ed conference you’ve been to and why?
Australia Solutions Conference. It was very interesting because I don’t think I’ve gone – yet I should’ve – gone to the conferences of others to the same extent. As an organisation that hosts the events, you always get tangled up in what you’re doing. But when you attend another organisation’s events, you are fascinated by the new geography and hear how depressing/joyful some debates are.
I also liked the British Council conference we did in Malaysia. It helped to started to understand a new region.
Worst food/beverage you had at a conference
It’s got to be British sandwiches.
What is a book/ podcast you recommend for the sector?
For kids, I really like You’re Dead to Me – it’s a nice history podcast. I also listen to a lot of BBC political podcasts, that’s more to stay connected with what’s happening.
Describe a project or initiative that you’re currently working on
We are currently in the second phase of a partnership that we have with an organisation called SEAMEO, South East Asia Ministers of Education Organisation.
Right ahead is the Regional Institute for Higher Education Development. It’s a public institution and has served as an implementing body within the Southeast Asian region for many decades. We’ve been an associate partner with it for over 10 years.
A couple of years ago, we decided to deepen that partnership and collaborated on a joint project – the Transformative Leadership Initiative. This initiative currently focuses on gender and higher education. The first phase took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed many challenges, but we still managed to conduct a series of faculty exchange visits between the Southeast Asian region and the UK. As a result, we produced a white paper identifying potential collective actions that could be implemented at national, regional, or even global levels.
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