Differentiating in the Global Workplace: The 3rd QS Apple Conference

Schools everywhere are expected to pursue and make accessible educational excellence. To meet the demands of educational quality, universities and colleges are seeking to distinguish themselves from others meaningfully and extend their capacities through strategic collaborations. A more challenging goal, however, is in making quality education within the reach of more students. These issues were at the heart of the recently held 3rd QS Asia Pacific Leaders in Education (QS APPLE) conference from July 11-13, 2007 in Wanchai, Hong Kong. QS APPLE aims to stimulate the internationalization of Asia’s institutions through partnership with other universities, schools and colleges in the world.

By adopting the theme “Asian Universities: Promoting Quality and Equal Opportunity Through Global Partnership,” the Conference sought to explore social responsibility in the Asian region and determine how global and regional partnerships can build on the desire of governments and institutions to improve educational quality and access to their own societies and those of their neighbors.

A major track in the conference was corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Higher Education, which was lobbied for and chaired by the De La Salle Professional Schools (DLSPS) Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business, CSR, being one of the thrusts of DLSPS’ management education program. Among the other tracks that were addressed were: Advancing Student Exchange; Graduate Employability; Internationalizing the Curriculum; Marketing and Recruitment, Partnerships in Action; Quality, Comparability and Recognition; Transnational Education; Vocational and technical Education; and the Big Picture.

The papers presented under the CSR track included (1) issues on educational inclusions and exclusions operating within institutional cultures and practices by Dr. Penny Burke from the University of London; (2) learning for social earning by Dr. Sriprapha Petchamesree from Mahidol University, Thailand; (3) unleashing new values in higher education through CSR by Mr. Juan Miguel Luz from the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction; and (4) mainstreaming CSR into higher education through service learning by yours truly from the De La Salle Professional Schools.

Service learning enables students to perform meaningful community service related to their courses. It addresses the issues of educational relevance and equal opportunity by helping the students become more sensitive to the plight of the marginalized and motivated to do something positive about it. As Louis DeTomasis, FSC, said: “Our vision for a socially responsible global learning community should be to prepare our students to create and shape a new and just global society—“not just to facilitate access for the poor and needy to education—and then to fix a world order that is ‘broken.’”

Among the findings shared during the conference was from a survey of global employers which showed a shortage of graduates with the right skills. Many graduates lacked the soft skills sought by international employers, namely: interpersonal skills, leadership and team working. These skills have proven to be more important to the international recruitment market than finance abilities and academic success. “Motivation to work for the employer” was shown to be the single most important thing being looked for in job interviews.

The importance of non-academic skills in the graduate workplace proves that schools can help their graduates differentiate themselves successfully in the recruitment process by developing the correct attitude of the mind, i.e., having the right motivation in work. It is in this context that service learning is most valuable.

The closing plenary speaker, Professor Michael Naughton from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, gave a thought provoking reappraisal of what comprises quality education. He challenged educators to mold their students to view work beyond career to calling. According to him, there is nothing wrong with looking at work as a job and a career. But that way of thinking is too small for us and can never truly satisfy. We help our students develop a healthier perspective of work through an education that is integrative—giving importance to both the technical and moral aspects, just as we need to give importance to both work and rest. As educators, we need to shift our emphasis from human capital to human dignity; private goods to common good; maximizing utility to distributing justice; and technical analysis to seeing things whole.

From the sharings of various speakers and delegates who came from over 40 countries, it occurred to me how education is indeed never value-neutral. To teach is to teach values. We communicate values either by consciously teaching it or not teaching it. As educators, we are called to help both the poor and the advantaged to develop the right motivation as professionals, which is the differentiation that truly counts in the market and in life.

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Philip Ella Juico is Dean of Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business (GSB) of the De La Salle Professional Schools. He holds the Corazon C. Aquino Chair for Business Management in the GSB. Email him at [email protected] or [email protected]