During the final months of semester 2, Environmental Systems and Societies (IB ESS) and Business Management (IB BM) teachers collaborated to bring in a series of guest speakers focusing on innovation and sustainability, part of the final senior projects for the grade 12 classes. Since the pandemic limited field trip opportunities, we brought the world to the students through this series, focused on shared concepts from business and environmental studies from both IBDP subjects.��

The inspiration for the event began when Dr. Ahmad, an associate professor of Development and Sustainability at the Asian Institute of Technology, within School of Environment, Resources and Development, came in to speak with the ESS class on his expertise “Adaptation Technologies for Climate Change: Some Solutions” in our Wells auditorium on March 3rd, 2021. ESS students were wrapping up their climate change forum, and Dr. Ahmad brought his expertise of SE Asia climate change adaptation projects, providing students with examples of the impact of climate change on local communities and possible solutions. The grade 12 students got a sense of what university lectures might be like, and with the return of online learning in April of 2021 due to COVID restrictions, it was the perfect opportunity to bring in more speakers virtually.

Dr. Silori

The BM/ESS guest speaker series was launched with the first speaker, Dr. Silori, sharing about “Environmental Responsibility of the Private Sector and Businesses”. Dr. Silori is an expert in forestry management, but he also serves as Deputy Executive Director of Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (), a project by the FAO and UN, based here in Bangkok, Thailand. We were delighted by his talk as it peaked students’ interest in the role companies take, large and small, in the environmental impacts of their business practices. Dr. Silori left students with the challenge of what they will do as future business leaders to go beyond social corporate responsibility and incorporate the understanding and importance of the environment into how businesses operate.��

When asked to share some of the points they learned from the guest speaker, one student reflected, saying:

“Dr. Silori gave a phenomenal presentation today on the responsibilities of businesses in the private sector…Companies and corporations are shifting their focus towards following CSR, which is amazing! Although, it is not enough. They have to shift their focus and perspective to really achieve sustainability. Why the businesses in the private sector? Because the large ones tend to hold the money and muscle power to do so and be a leader. Raising awareness amongst people of all classes and languages, negotiating terms, educating the upcoming generations, etc. are the steps towards making a real change. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I want to remember these facts and ideas in the future when I have a business of my own.”

Mr. Adam Sharpe

The second guest speaker brought students a taste of futures-thinking thanks to the thoughts shared by Mr. Adam Sharpe, who brought in his expertise in strategy and consulting in the field of futures thinking for students to learn about. Mr. Sharpe co-founded , and has worked on various projects with the Asian Development Bank, the British Council, and the United Nations (UN). The goal of Metafuture School is to provide a space for young people to engage in 21st century skills development, and increase their capacity to meet the changes brought about by various economic, political and demographic shifts the world faces today.��

Students engaged in an activity to apply systems thinking tools, and Mr. Sharpe led them through how to use a Futures Wheel. One student reflected:��

“In ESS we talk about systems thinking and I think today I was able to understand and��apply it. The biggest take-away for me was about the question that I had asked him whether “it is possible to achieve the UN SDGs by 2030?”, after listening to the answer my perspective on the goals had changed. I used to think it was either black or white, yes or no type of question. But after the answer he gave today, made me realize that there is no real scale of measurement taking place for each SDG, it is just a vision and we all are working towards it collaboratively.”

Another student reflected that:

“…the most important takeaway of the speaker session today was to know that the the future is uncertain, and the best way to deal with that uncertainty is to come up with several scenarios of the future, the possibilities of what can happen and what solutions can we come up with in the event that these scenarios come into play…we have to consider the effects that the future scenarios had on STEEP… Social, Technological, Economic, Ecology, and Political, which are concepts that not only encompass the …BM and ESS subjects, but encompass all of human lives.”

Mr. Chris Oestereich

The final speaker for the BM/ESS collaboration was Mr. Chris Oestereich, who leads , a consulting firm that assists organizations with the transition towards the circular economy — developing waste to value products like handbags, eyeglass frames, and 3D printing filament. The BM/ESS classes had just completed their final collaborative project designing products for a circular economy and so it was a great link to see the similarities in the speaker’s work and the various student projects. Mr. Oestereich shared about his work as a co-founder of the and as publisher of the , an independent press that tackles humanity’s biggest challenges. Students also got the sense of what university lectures can be like, since he is also an adjunct professor at Thammasat University’s in the Social Enterprise program teaching courses related to social innovation, sustainability, and advocacy. Students were glad to hear from an expert in the field after their own trials and efforts in designing for the circular economy.����

Some reflections students had included:

“After listening to his projects I started thinking about how items in my room, my kitchen and the environment could be something better and help others when reused instead of being thrown away and burnt or thrown into the landfill or anything. Next time I buy things I will definitely start thinking about how the items that I buy could be reused…”

“For today’s speaker series, we talked about the Systems Thinking approach. It is a very��interesting concept and Mr. Chris’ knowledge of sustainability and different types of approaches within the systems thinking really helped me see the bigger picture and was a perfect ending to our ESS class…The idea I got from his talk today was to look at things from a holistic perspective and see how everything is connected. I would once again like to thank Mr. Chris for joining us today and giving his precious time to teach us something new and meaningful.”

Special Thanks

Yes, indeed! We are grateful to all the speakers for their willingness to give their time and share their wisdom and expertise within their fields of study. This experience provided students real-life connections with the syllabi from their IB BM and IB ESS courses. Despite the challenges these students face during this extended pandemic, the insights from these speakers may have left them with a spark to go out and make a difference in the world, one student at a time.��

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Written By: Ms. Katherine Caouette, IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS) Teacher

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After a few weeks of exams and final assessments, our high school students and teachers ended the semester with a Virtual Wells Without Walls (WWW) week, an initiative to empower students to take more control of their learning and explore new experiences, skills, and service learning opportunities.��

Typically, Wells Without Walls is a week dedicated to learning in various shapes and forms, inside and outside the school walls. Students and teachers play a large role in organizing the event and tailoring it to the needs and vision of the high school student body. WWW aims to provide students with academic, CAS/co-curricular, experiential and service learning opportunities through student and teacher-led workshops, IB sessions, life skills and hands-on activities, action planning, sports, and service learning. Underlying these opportunities is the empowerment of our students and teachers as change-agents and leaders as they explore and showcase their various passions, skills, and talents, through collaboration and teamwork.

Virtual Wells Without Walls

Due to pandemic restrictions, this year’s event was hosted virtually through Google Meet by our Community Engagement & Spirit & Events committees. Students and teachers engaged in various activities and workshops, interacting with each other and various guest speakers throughout the last week of school.��

We kicked off the week with our Class of 2022 IBDP TOK Exhibition, in which Grade 11 students showcased their final TOK exhibitions and completed their first IBDP internal assessment.��

New and Returning Guest Speakers��

Throughout the week, we hosted some new and returning guest speakers. A few of our Wells alumni, Akhil Shanishetti, Prim Pupornchai (Class of 2015), and Natnisha Ahuja (Class of 2018) joined us for an alumni panel discussion, in which they addressed questions from our high school students about college entrance exams, university life, finding a major, career planning, etc.��Our recent alumni, Hrithi Bhattacharya, Gia Karamchandani, and Riddhi Tandon (Class of 2021) shared about their learning and growth through CAS in ‘How to be a CAS Superstar’.��

joined us to give some inspiration to our middle and high school students in regards to the potential of a CAS project. In their case, their high school CAS project turned into a globally established social enterprise.

Mr. Sandeep from the Art of Living Foundation here in Bangkok joined us virtually for a session to share brain hacks for high school students. This was a nice, interactive session which invited students and teachers to try some breathing and meditation techniques.��Mr. Arch also shared about his own 30-day challenge and challenged our high school students to take on a 30-day challenge this summer.

Second Annual AP Symposium��

Ms. Katherine and Mr. Arch hosted the second annual AP Symposium, which offered students the opportunity to present their research presentations and share different perspectives. Students presented on various topics, ranging from psychology (AP Research) to science (AP Biology, G9 Chemistry, Environmental Science) and interdisciplinary work (AP Seminar, G11 TOK).

Ms. Amrita, one of our former Wells teachers, was very enthusiastic to join the Symposium and share an inspirational talk titled ‘You Matter’, along with our TED-Ed club members, who shared their learning about forming positive habits.

Grade 10 Introduction to Business Shark Tank

To end off the week, Ms. Lee and her Grade 10 Introduction to Business students hosted Shark Tank: Season 4, in which students pitched their entrepreneurial ideas to a panel of ‘sharks’. They demonstrated excellent teamwork, innovation and creativity in their ideas. Overall, it was a great showcase of their knowledge gained in the course and the potential they have to innovate and problem-solve.

Performing Arts Showcase

Finally, our Visual & Performing Arts department joined our Community Engagement group to showcase some student music and dance performances. The was also premiered, which was a showcase of recorded radio shows based on theater students’ transcribing of famous short stories from the 19th and 20th centuries into radio scripts.

A big thank you goes out to all of the students, teachers, parents, guests and community members who contributed to making this last week of this very unpredictable 2020-21 school year a meaningful and engaging one!

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