“Science is always about new ideas, and it’s interesting how much these can vary depending on cultural context,” says Peter Haddawy. The computer scientist knows these differences first hand. After spending ten years at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the USA, he moved to Thailand. He began his work there as Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Asian Institute of Technology, and has been a professor at Mahidol University since 2014. He currently also researches and teaches at the University of Bremen as an honorary professor. A significant part of his work serves to strengthen connections: between the two universities, between different scientific disciplines, and between researchers and students.