Sue Cunningham has a conversation with Professor Cheryl de la Rey, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Canterbury, on what turned out to be the first day of ‘Level Two’ reopening on the country of New Zealand after seven weeks of lockdown during the covid-19 pandemic. Their conversation covered similarities and differences across universities, countries, and academic cultures; the impact of the pandemic on international education; and the vital importance of bringing multiple global perspectives to our campuses and even more importantly bringing a diversity of intellectual approaches to problems we are trying to solve. The conversation wraps with a focus on why our network matters, the importance of connecting to one another even in times like the current pandemic, and how we can emerge from this situation even stronger.