Challenging the World, Living the Values: A Reflection on the Course Challenges of Globalization
January, 2026
At SASS, the first examination period of the 2025/26 academic year is currently taking place. Below, we share a reflection by our lecturer Dr. Janja Mikulan, who, among other courses, teaches Challenges of Globalization.
The course Challenges of Globalization in the MA programme in Intercultural Management is one of those that today does not allow for superficiality. It is content-rich, demanding, and often emotionally taxing. We are, after all, talking about a world of polycrisis: cultural clashes, planetary boundaries, inequalities, violence, autocratization, and technologies that simultaneously open up possibilities and deepen existing fractures.
This is precisely why this year’s oral exams were something special for me. The students did not demonstrate knowledge alone – they demonstrated understanding. They understood the complexity of the world, systemic interconnections and contradictions, and, above all, they were able to think beyond simple answers. Yet even more than their knowledge, their values moved me. Their way of thinking, sensitivity toward others, the ability to reflect on their own position, and their sense of responsibility toward the community and the world. These are the “soft,” yet essential competencies that I, as a pedagogue, strive to pass on – and this year the students did not merely understand them, but truly lived them.
For me, the symbol of all this remains the heart-shaped cookies they brought me during the long, intense exam days. A small gesture, but one rich in meaning: gratitude, humanity, reciprocity. And a reminder that the academic space is not merely a place for assessing knowledge, but a space of relationships.
Moments like these reaffirm why it makes sense to persist with demanding content, why it is worth opening difficult questions, and why education – despite all its challenges – remains one of the most powerful tools for shaping thoughtful, responsible, and empathetic individuals.
Thank you to the students of the course Challenges of Globalization, academic year 2025/2026. For your courage, for sharing your experiences and reflections, and – for your heart. ❤️
(J.M.)