This week I have been representing the College at several United World College meetings in India.  The biannual Heads’ Meeting, the biennial Heads’ Retreat and the UWC Education Committee meetings were held at Mahindra UWC, and these meetings were followed by the biannual UWC International Board meeting in Mumbai.

This was my first visit to the Mahindra UWC campus.  I was surprised by both the College’s remoteness (it is a 5 hour journey by bus from Mumbai) and its beauty – I do not think that either any description or any photo I had seen of the campus beforehand did justice to the stunning design of the College.

As anyone who knows me would expect, I managed to get a huge number of photos of the campus, and I have shared a collection of 42 of these in a special gallery.  They can be accessed either by clicking HERE, or on the image at the top of this week’s blog.

The week in India was extremely busy, with several very major discussions undertaken.  Among the significant issues addressed were the proposed UWC Diploma, the proposed new governance structure for United World Colleges (International), identifying the characteristics that give UWCs their distinctive identity, the future of the UWC in Mostar, student welfare policies and a possible future Essential Agreement for students, staff conditions and remuneration, the tone and atmosphere in the Colleges, several proposals for new UWCs, and too many more things to try and list here.

But as always, the highlight of the experience was being immersed in another UWC for a few days.  I stayed with two teachers who are former LPCUWC students, which was a great way to appreciate the continuing wider impact of our College in Hong Kong upon the UWC Movement - thanks Mike and Clare for your generous hospitality!  Of course, in many ways, the students one finds in any UWC could be transplanted into any other UWC without noticing much difference - they are uniformly sensational, and it is great to be reminded of this by visiting other UWC campuses.  On the other hand, every College also has certain distinctive characteristics and programs that reflect its location and surrounding culture.

For Li Po Chun UWC, the distinctive feature is the two-way bridge of understanding we build between China’s culture and the cultures of the world.  For Mahindra UWC, there are two important distinctive thrusts.

One is the biodiversity program, which is transforming a previously barren hilltop location into a green and leafy biodiversity reserve that aims to restore the campus to its natural ecosystem as well as protecting many endangered species.  The new biodiversity dome and tree planting scheme are perhaps the most obvious signs of this thrust, although the increasing use of biogas and wind power are also important contributors.  The photos in the gallery illustrate some aspects of this program.

The other distinctive feature of the College is the Akshara program, and for me, it is even more exciting.  Akshara (which means ‘alphabet’ in the local Maruti language) is a program to build links with needy children in the surrounding villages in the valleys below the College.  Younger students attend the College regularly and receive instruction from the College students and teachers.  As a result of the Akshara program, the average academic results of the valley’s school children have improved dramatically, and some have even managed to proceed to US universities on full scholarships.

This transformative dimension of the College’s program is, for me, the true measure of an authentically worthwhile education.  Well done Mahindra!

You can access the gallery of 42 images of Mahindra United World College by clicking HERE.