Students comprising 60 nationalities joined the ‘Most Nationalities in a Business Lesson’ record attempt earlier this week at the Holborn campus of Hult International Business School.

It broke the previous record of 50 nationalities in one business class.

“I was thrilled to see this wide array of learners in the classroom, as it reflects just what makes Hult special—it’s diversity of cultures and thought,” said Chris Kinsville-Heyne, who led the class on crisis management, mitigation and response.

Some 95% of Hult’s students are studying at a campus outside of their home country, and its current global cohort includes more than 150 nationalities and 144 languages spoken.

Some of the nationalities represented in the world-record effort included Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tunisia and Turkey.

“The diversity in our classroom opens up a lot of really challenging conversations and helps us navigate how we talk about certain issues, how to find a middle ground or decrease the polarisation growing in the world, as mentioned in Professor Kinsville-Heyne’s class,” said masters student, Tomaz Nicolai Diaz.

“You’re forced to come closer and not focus so much on differences”

Of his cohort of 60, there are at least 30 different nationalities, he added.

“Whenever you’re surrounded by so many different perspectives, you’re forced to come closer and not focus so much on differences, but similarities.”

Guinness World Records ratified the event by an official adjudicator and students were required to show passports to prove their nationalities.

In 2012, London was also the location for another world-record achievement, when 250 international students have broke the Guinness World Record for the largest mortar board toss.