The University of Washington Bothell and the city of Bellevue hosted Her Excellency Meera Shankar, the Indian Ambassador to the United States, for a dinner in her honor on Friday, Oct. 16 at the Harbor Club in Bellevue.

Over 150 Eastside business leaders and dignitaries, including members of the Indian Association of Western Washington, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington State Department of Commerce, Snohomish County EDC and the Trade Development Alliance were in attendance at the event to welcome the ambassador and to celebrate the eve of Diwali.

The ambassador spoke to the sold-out crowd on the importance of higher education in an increasingly globalized world. UW Bothell Business Program Director Sandeep Krishnamurthy followed the ambassador’s remarks, illustrating the common dilemmas faced by businesses working in a more globalized economy.

“It is our mission to focus on ideas that will change the world,” Krishnamurthy said. “In an international knowledge-based economy, leadership is about the power of ideas and not the idea of power.”

Chancellor Kenyon Chan echoed this sentiment in his remarks, “UW Bothell is pleased to support this global trade conversation as our mission is to train the next generation of leaders, preparing them for this new, more integrated world.”

The evening concluded with brief remarks by UW Bothell Technology MBA student Gregor Kneitz who commented, “Globalization is no longer a concept or a philosophy; it is the reality of the world we all live in. The question is no longer whether we want to participate, but how we act in the global environment.”