It is the end of 2022 and the world’s eyes and ears are tuned to the middle eastern nation of Qatar where the 2022 World Cup is currently taking place. This episode takes us on a global journey that spans Mexico, the U.S., India and ends in Doha in Qatar. But it’s not about soccer; it’s a journey about education. The episode’s guest is Francisco Marmolejo whose expansive, global career in international higher education has taken him from leading a higher education association to heading the World Bank’s higher education work around the world, and to now being the President of Higher Education at the Qatar Foundation (QF) in Doha, where he leads the unique ecosystem of eight prestigious universities that offer more than 70 undergraduate and graduate programs to students from 60 countries at QF’s Education City, the largest campus of its kind globally. While at the World Bank from 2012-2020, he provided advice and support to higher education projects in more than 60 countries, including his role as Leader of the Higher Education Governance Benchmarking Project in the Middle East and North Africa region. Originally from Mexico, Francisco’s international education experience has taken him to more than 90 countries around the world, where he has worked with universities, governments and international associations on international education projects over more than 30 years.
Episode Themes:
How Francisco’s multi-sector experience spanning a higher education association, a multilateral organization, and a foundation has shaped his understanding of higher education issues around the world.
Francisco’s early beginnings in Mexico and how he found his way from agriculture and agribusiness to international higher education.
Francisco’s time in India with the World Bank, his deep associations with the country and its people, and the many things that Mexico and India share in common.
Ongoing challenges and gaps in higher education for Global South countries like India and Mexico
How the Qatar Foundation is developing innovative models of higher education, and the concept of the “multiversity’
Francisco’s key pieces of advice for the next generation of international education professionals
Episode Resources:
Octavio Paz's book, In Light of India
My book: America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration
