Developing a school culture based on empathy: An interview with Dr. Aung Myo Min

His disbelief gave way to gratitude, not just for the recognition, but for the "entire Helix family", he explains: the students, teachers and parents he credits with the school's success.

Dr. Aung brings a leadership perspective to his role which he developed through his work in healthcare and education. After swapping the stethoscope and transitioning from medical academia to a career in education, Dr. Aung has spent the last five years creating a school culture built around the values of empathy and community. His approach has taken Helix International School from a single classroom to a network reaching students in some of the country's most remote villages. We sat down with Dr. Aung to learn about the journey of building "Helix culture" from the ground up.

A career shift from medicine to educational leadership

Before becoming a school leader, Dr. Aung worked in rural medical service and medical academia. This role forced him to confront the deep hardships his patients and communities faced.

"I learned empathy from my rural patients. Then I changed my career to become a university lecturer for more than a decade," he explains. "I taught many medical students, learning their philosophy, psychology and emotions. These experiences provided a strong foundation when I transitioned my career into the private education sector."

The pull toward teaching had started even earlier, in fact. As a medical student himself, he noticed classmates who struggled academically and instinctively stepped in to offer his support.

When he founded Helix International School in 2021, he carried that empathy into the classroom, and realised how many people he could reach. He explains, "A doctor can treat only a community nearby, but an educator can reach across a nation." What's more, as a father of two daughters, he has insight into parents' hopes for their own children, something he keeps in mind in his dealings with Helix families.

Dr. Aung makes sure he is a constant presence on the school grounds and sports fields, and makes a point of engaging with families at parent-teacher meetings. This is his way of ensuring every member of the Helix community feels seen and supported, rather than leading from a distance.

Managing school growth through staff empowerment

When Helix International School opened, it consisted of a single class of seven students, with Dr. Aung and his wife acting as the primary staff. Today, that small initiative has grown into a network of six campuses with more than 200 staff and teachers and over 1,000 students.

Growth of that scale brings a risk: that the culture of the original classroom gets lost along the way. Dr. Aung has been vigilant about protecting his organisation's core. "The Helix culture is created not by slogans or the posters written on the walls of the school," he explains. "This culture is the result of a consistent effort made by our whole community."

To maintain this, Dr. Aung had to undergo a difficult transition: learning to delegate. As the school grew, he knew that acting as the sole decision-maker was unsustainable. He appointed vice principals to each campus, empowering them to take charge of staff and curriculum. This freed him to focus on the culture itself.

Finding the right people to work with hasn't been straightforward, though. Dr. Aung describes the hiring process as the most challenging part of his leadership journey. Many of Myanmar's most qualified educators are choosing to work abroad, so each year Helix International School invests time and resources in training less experienced staff into the roles that the school needs.

Education as a force for community resilience

Helix International School defines its mission through a philosophy of community growth. In a country where external crises often threaten access to education, the school acts as a source of stability. When floods devastated Taungoo in 2024 or earthquakes struck Pyinmana and Middle Myanmar in 2025, the school did not merely send funds from afar. Dr. Aung mobilised the entire Helix community - parents, teachers, and students - to travel to the affected areas.

"In Burmese, there is a saying that our task is to carry 'a single brick or grain of sand', meaning we should make a personal contribution, no matter how small," Dr. Aung explains. "In this way, we give the small seeds of the Helix culture to our young minds to help build them into global citizens."

That same principle extends beyond Helix's physical classrooms. Dr. Aung has leveraged technology to bridge the digital divide between Yangon and remote areas. This is despite practical obstacles that both students and teachers have had to work around, such as patchy internet and an unreliable electricity supply. The results have surprised even Dr. Aung: he initially doubted online teaching could match the classroom experience, but he says students earning the school's top academic honours have come disproportionately from the online platform, not campus.

He tells the story of a student from a rural town who, initially very shy, found the confidence to pursue international education. Thanks to the online pathways and support from Helix International School, she earned a $100,000 (Canadian Dollar) scholarship to the University of Toronto

Beyond digital access, Dr. Aung ensures that geography and finances do not dictate a student's future. He established a merit-based scholarship programme offering up to 100% tuition support for high-achieving students, and signed a partnership with Myanmar Citizens Bank to provide educational loans.

A responsibility to future generations

As Dr. Aung looks forward to the next 10 to 20 years, his ambition is clear: he wants Helix International School to be a leading international school not just in Myanmar, but in the region. He is seeking partnerships with top-tier global universities to ensure every Helix student has access to high ranking international education with costs which are affordable for the average Myanmar family.

His strategy for global connection is already yielding tangible results. By hosting representatives from top universities and celebrating alumni success, he helps students see a clear path to the world beyond Myanmar.

However, the ultimate success of the school will not be measured solely by admission statistics, he explains. It will be measured, instead, by the return of its students to participate in Myanmar's ongoing development. "I am very positive about the future of our country," he says. "The young people now going abroad to study and work overseas will return one day to help build the country."

For Dr. Aung, the Pearson award isn't a finishing line. "The responsibility goes beyond the award," he says. "I feel more responsible for opening doors for my students, my people and my teachers."

Further reading

Read more about the 2026 winners in the Pearson International School Teacher Awards.