Purpose This article describes the findings of a phenomenological study whose purpose was to understand the essence of education from the analysis of the relationships emerging between the main educational actors (professors and students). Design/methodology/approach This research was approached from the qualitative paradigm and from a method of phenomenological analysis; specifically, heterological phenomenology is proposed, which is presented as the search for human relationships as a founding condition of education. For collecting information, a phenomenological interview with twelve professors from public and private universities in the city of Manizales (Colombia) was used. Findings The results reveal the experiences had in education from the relationships that have left their mark on the subjects and discover education as a relationship with the Other of welcome, hospitality, vocation and responsibility. Originality/value The originality of the study is in the particular method, heterological phenomenology, which investigates the experience of human relationships as a scenario for constructing a reality in which the starting point is the narrative that the Other (research subject) makes of his encounters with his-Other (subject present in the narrative).