Finding Identity and Connection at the Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations Conference

Kate Liebelt, February 17, 2020, Cambridge, MA

Each February, hundreds of students, early careerists, and seasoned professionals from around the world gather at Harvard to discuss trends, opportunities, and challenges facing Asia. Founded in 1991, the Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations (“HPAIR”) is an independent, student-run organization led by bright, creative, and collaborative individuals. The HPAIR team balances a tremendously challenging course load and extracurriculars, while producing two world-class conferences: the Harvard Conference (Cambridge, MA) and the Asia Conference (different Asian city each year). In total, HPAIR has organized 43 conferences in 12 different host countries, changing the lives of more than 10,000 students and young professionals as well as the speakers, advisers, and sponsors. Reminder: The next Asia conference will be held in Taipei, Taiwan in August 2020. The next Harvard conference will be held February 2021.

HPAIR conference themes focus on political, social, economic, leadership and technical knowledge that next generation leaders will need to guide Asia into the future.  Freshman members of HPAIR are responsible for identifying and securing speakers and they thoughtfully shape conference programming to reflect the perspectives, thoughts, and emotions of anyone with a personal or professional connection to Asia. For example, I’ve lived in Japan and worked in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore and South Korea. Asia is one of my homes, and I have a vested interest in region’s future. I have attended HPAIR annually since 2009 to keep my ties with Asia as strong as possible, while living and working in the US. 

The year’s Harvard campus conference theme is “striking a balance” – an appropriate sentiment for our fast-paced world. Corinne LeGoff, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Medicine, Amgen explained her open ceremony remarks, we must employ a balance of the "Three C's" 1. Caring (Humility, Empathy) 2. Courage, and 3. Creativity to navigate and lead in our ever-changing global society. We are navigating uncharted territory with respect to disruptive, emerging technologies, the shift of economic power from the West to the East, pressing public health challenges, environmental crises, changing attitudes on the value of traditional education, the rise of the entrepreneur, among other trends. As this evening’s closing ceremony keynote Richard Towle, Deputy Director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated “we’ve never been more connected or more guarded” as a society.

HPAIR conferences attract a world-class roster of speakers including successful business, government, and academic leaders hailing from organization such as PayPal, Alibaba, Proctor & Gamble, Amgen, the New York Times, Vogue, Lockheed Martin, Ant Financial Services Group, RAND, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, US Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, University of Oxford, Khalifa University of Science and Technology (Abu Dhabi), and Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Law School, among other institutions. Speakers spend 4 days on campus, educating and networking with the young HPAIR delegates and each other on topics such as Arts, Media & Culture, Energy & Environmental Sustainability, Global Markets & Economy, Governance & Geopolitics, Science & Technology, and Social Policy & Justice.

HPAIR speakers and sponsors gain as much inspiration from the conference as the delegates. The opportunity to engage with eager students and early careerists who have creative ideas to solve society’s toughest challenges is a gift for seasoned executives who are reminded they have an opportunity to not only share knowledge and wisdom but also co-create the future in partnership with young global citizens. Additionally, speakers often identify and connect with peer leaders who share similar enthusiasm for the region, and business collaborations emerge as a result. 

The most significant opportunity for speakers and delegates to co-create the future at HPAIR is the Impact Challenge (IC) case competition. My employer, Deloitte, has generously supported the HPAIR IC case competition since I first proposed the opportunity to the firm in 2013. This year, Deloitte, Stride Funding, United Nations and Luminopia presented cases that challenged delegates to deliver an innovative fan experience for the NBA, create the next billion-dollar business idea, solve emerging refugee crises, and innovate on traditional student loan models. Deloitte was honored to include Harvard Innovation Labs Entrepreneurs-In-Residence as judges for our case competition – Founders from Smoodi (self-cleaning machine for fresh, customized smoothies) and AllSpice (software tool that lets hardware engineers automate their development and collaborate on designs) shared their wisdom and insights with teams. Winning teams receive career mentoring, commemorative gifts, and monetary prizes for their creativity and hard work.

As I reflect on the last few days at Harvard, HPAIR Co-Executive Director Bob Chen‘s remarks continue to resonate with me. During opening ceremony, Bob touched on our human ability to strive to see the world through the eyes of eyes, and the importance of cultivating empathy for our brothers and sisters around the world. Our shared vision will propel us towards a bright, healthy, prosperous future. HPAIR is truly a forum that serves to shape that future. 

Call to Action: If you are a student reading this post, I hope you will consider apply to attend HPAIR. If you are the leader of an organization committed to supporting next generation, global leaders, please consider sponsoring this important organization. Contact HPAIR Co-Executive Director Milan Bhandari at mbhandari@hpair.org for more information.

HPAIR Asia Conference August 2020, Taipei, Taiwan.

HPAIR Harvard Conference February 2021.