The Equis edge

A wide array of local and foreign institutions is turning the Philippines into a hub of international learning. It has become commonplace for Asian students to fly to our shores to take advantage of our keen communications and business courses. The fact that foreign students regard our country as a nucleus of learning is an undeniable mark of honor and esteem. And adding to that prestige is the recent kudos that foreign organizations have been giving select institutions in the Philippines. 

In a previous column, I cited the Esteban School’s efforts to raise the standards of business education in our country. You can thus imagine my pleasure upon learning that the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) MBA course is one of the few proud programs to be awarded the coveted Equis accreditation. The course is being offered at UWA’s Manila Campus via a partnership with the Esteban School and the Australian Institute for Higher Education (AIHE).

The Equis accreditation is one of the greatest badges of excellence that can be given to a graduate school. It is linked to the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), its mission being to raise the standard of management education worldwide.

I gained a deeper appreciation of the UWA’s contribution to local education when I learned about the stringent guidelines that Equis applies when considering a school for accreditation. These guidelines can be just as exacting as the entrance exam of the most prestigious college or university.

Schools that are recognized by Equis must demonstrate not only a strong academic backbone, but also a high degree of “internationalization.” We are witnessing the onset of global culture where companies are recruiting worldwide, and students are considering schools away from their home countries. And just as significant, many schools, such as the Esteban School and the UWA Manila campus, are building alliances across borders and continents. 

These developments call for a greater need to recognize — and grant accreditation — to schools that can deliver high quality education while adapting to global trends.

Equis assessed the UWA’s program as a whole, taking into consideration its various activities, including research, e-learning and even community outreach actions. Much of the university’s efforts go beyond traditional classroom functions such as lectures, tutorials and research.

The UWA curriculum that strikes a highly desirable balance between a strong academic structure and exposure to the corporate world is one of the factors that earned the school its accreditation. A strong interaction with the world of business is a must for accreditation. Equis places much importance on a school’s ability to develop an effective learning environment that sharpens student’s managerial and business acumen, while fostering innovative ways of thinking.

Equis has established its prestige and recognition worldwide. And to date, the UWA is the only organization in Manila to run an Equis-accredited MBA curriculum. Hence, it can rightfully pride itself on being one of 113 institutions in 33 countries that have been awarded the Equis “seal of approval.” With all the distinction and the prestige that it carries, isn’t it is a pleasure to know that the Philippines is one of those 33 countries?

It may also interest people to know that UWA has a unique system where courses are actually held here by visiting UWA professors who purposely come to Manila in order to personally conduct the classes. These evening and weekend sessions are designed with the busy schedules of working professionals in mind. This is the ideal scenario for working students who wish to pursue their MBA degree while keeping up with the demands of the respective careers and ambitions.

Local mentors are also tapped for each subject to support the visiting professors and to contribute the all-important Filipino perspective. This ensures that the program balances global standards and perspective with a locally relevant outlook.

For more information on the UWA Manila office, visit their website at www.uwamanila.com, call 8873919 or 8442812, or mail to: [email protected] [email protected]

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Armand N. Nocum, a former reporter of a daily newspaper, and his Tausug wife Annora, have put up a halal food business in Metro Manila “to show that there is more to our Muslim brethren than just the Abu Sayyaf, the MNLF and the MILF.” He says that he and Annora “also believe that the food we introduce could somehow break down the wall of bias and indifference that some of us Christians have put up towards Muslims down South.”

The food is spicy, like the Malaysian satti or satay. The Satti Grill House outlets are at SM Fairview Food Court and at MH del Pilar corner Padre Faura. At these places, Christians and Muslims break bread — in peace and harmony.

But serving Muslim food, however, is not enough to promote good relations among Christians and Muslims. Armand and Annora, parents of two young children, have also started a Books-4-Guns project, with the hope of flooding Mindanao with used and new books, magazines, and all kinds of reading materials “to open up the eyes of young Christians and Muslims there to the reality that they have a better future picking up a book than a gun.”

Armand, a Christian, grew up in Zamboanga, and his wife, a Muslim, in Sulu. According to Norman, he and Annora “ had a common experience of having many guns in our childhood, but we remember books to be very rare. Old newspapers could only be read as they were brought home as wrappers for dried fish bought in the city.”

The couple call their project A-book-Saya Groups (ASG). This is a play of words on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) “because we want to show how the giving of books could help stop one more potential terrorist or rebel from picking up guns or bombs.”

People interested in having peace in Mindanao, starting with young children reading books, may donate reading materials to the couple. Contact them through tel. nos. 7992745 or 3393732 or 0917-5298013 or 0919-5897879, or at www.sattisfaction.blogspot.com and [email protected]

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My e-mail:[email protected]