As a student I always dreaded going back to school. I didn’t like being stuck in the classroom when I wanted to be out in the world exploring. It’s funny how now I find myself eagerly anticipating the start of the school year. It is quite wonderful to see our growing membership so engaged in our shared goal of strengthening management education.

We have a bounty of expertise and perspectives from many different corners of the world, which are coming together this Fall for a variety of programs that wouldn’t be possible without this unique global network. For example, GBSN is convening a panel for the International Council for Small Business Conference in Washington, DC called “Around the World in 60 Minutes,” which will include experts from the Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia and Pan-African University in Nigeria, among others.

This is the kind of program that builds connections, shares knowledge and develops new ideas across schools, and across borders. It is indicative of the power of our network to strengthen management education, which continues to grow as more schools and partners join the effort.

In September we’ll be at Columbia Business School with a panel of businesses and educators addressing smallholder farms and agribusiness. In October we’ll host a webinar on succession planning for family businesses in different countries. For November’s Global Entrepreneurship Week GBSN is teaming up with George Washington University School of Business to bring together an international panel on technology and entrepreneurship. Plus, all month long in September many of our schools and partners will be blogging, hosting webinars and participating in discussions for our very first “Case Method Month.” And that’s just for Fall semester.

It is through GBSN that I now have the privilege of exploring the world all school year long.

I encourage you to explore along by getting engaged yourself. Participate in webinars, events and online discussions, and let us know if you would like to host one. Use GBSN to find like-minded partners for research or projects. Tell your colleagues, students and partners about GBSN. Finally, be sure to let us know about conferences, seminars and programs that you are planning so we can spread the word.

It is you, our members and partners, who are making the Global Business School Network successful. Your passion and commitment to advancing management education for the developing world inspires and drives us. We work constantly to make this community a robust learning and networking environment that will help you to further your own efforts. With your support we’ll have another fruitful year to celebrate when we meet again at the 7th annual GBSN Conference next summer.