Over the next couple of weeks I have the privilege of lecturing in a program at San José State University for students who have traveled from all over the world to study science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship here in Silicon Valley. They come from a variety of countries in Asia and Europe such as Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, China, and Mongolia. What strikes me most is how fully they are present. These students are heavily engaged—curious, energetic, and clearly having the cultural and educational experience of their young lives. You can feel the charge in the room. A big part of that experience is the teamwork. They are working closely in mixed groups, learning how to collaborate across languages, backgrounds, and working styles. For many of them English is a second language, yet they communicate effectively within their teams—finding ways to share ideas, negotiate, and build on one another's thinking. Watching that process is one of the more rewarding parts of being in the room with them. The cultural exchange is just as powerful as the formal curriculum. Students are not only studying science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship; they are living it while immersed in a new environment, forming connections with peers from different countries, and absorbing Silicon Valley's unique mix of ambition, informality, and possibility. Innovation, at its core, is putting new ideas to work—and these students are seeing firsthand how that process unfolds. Much of the innovation landscape they are encountering is being reshaped by AI. It is folding into hardware, software, the internet, and the edge in ways that are changing how products are built, how companies operate, and how new opportunities emerge. These are themes I explore in my book AI L4IR: Leadership and the 4th Industrial Revolution and through the work of the AI Institute of Silicon Valley, where we focus on practical ways leaders and teams can adopt AI without losing rigor or governance. Many of the students are also looking forward to classic Silicon Valley experiences: the Golden Gate Bridge, campuses of some of the most famous companies headquartered here, and the physical landscape shaping today's technology. It is a genuine treat to be working with these students—and with the faculty at SJSU. The students bring fresh perspective and serious ambition. The faculty create the kind of environment that makes this kind of global exchange possible. I feel fortunate to be part of the team for these next few weeks. There is something special about watching young people from such different backgrounds step into Silicon Valley together, full of energy and possibility, at a moment when AI is accelerating so much of the innovation around them. I'm looking forward to the conversations and the teamwork ahead. https://kentkaufman.substack.com/p/welcoming-the-world-to-silicon-valley