Newly opened school aims to bridge industry-academe gap

MANILA, Philippines - Back when everybody was skeptical about the Fort Bonifacio area in Taguig City, finance and IT executive Ramon Garcia Jr. and his business associates put up a tertiary school there, foreseeing the development that the place is now enjoying.

After 10 years of operation, the Global City Innovative College (GCIC) is now internationally recognized and is giving birth to another tertiary school in the Metro Sta. Rosa area in Silang, Cavite, the next boom city, according to Garcia.

 Again, believing in the prospects of the place, Garcia and some like-minded businessmen are investing and opening this school year the South Forbes City College (SFCC), which stands to benefit both the business industry and the academe in the area.

 Initially offering baccalaureate courses on business administration, hotel and restaurant management, and tourism management, the SFCC will work in sync with the business development in the area.

 The Metro Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay corridor is now the center of light manufacturing industries and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and has a burgeoning residential and commercial community.  

“His background in the finance industry gives Garcia the ability to spot successful businesses on the rise,” notes Acer Capital Group, a premier international investment management group, where 41-year-old Garcia is a managing partner.   

With SFCC, Garcia and his team are introducing a new business model for education—that is, bridging the gap between the academe and the real world. 

“We will do this by providing students with constant on-the-job training by being exposed to companies in their fields of study,” stresses Garcia. “You won’t get this anywhere else.” 

While guided by the GCIC curriculum, SFCC will focus on internship programs with the school’s corporate partners so that the graduates will be equipped with skills specifically needed by the industries.

The school’s first three courses will cater to nearby factories, BPOs, tourism firms, and IT companies, according to Garcia. He says future courses will likewise depend on the needs of the school’s industry partners. 

“The courses are designed in such a way that theory and application are equally prioritized,” says Garcia.  “We want to prepare our students for the real world, not a mostly theoretical environment.  SFCC goes beyond regular education to make SFCC graduates become valuable assets to any industry.” 

So far, SFCC’s partner business institutions to provide internships for students are Cathay Land, Astoria Hotel Group, DFNN Group, Iwave, Inc., Essence Asia Uniglobal Holidays Philippines and Singapore, and Falcor Helisolutions.

 “We are currently having ongoing discussions on international tie-ups with other educational institutions and companies,” discloses Garcia.

To bolster SFCC’s real world education program, in the pipeline is a fully dedicated trading room, where business students can participate in activities that simulate stock market trading.  Garcia was the youngest governor to be elected to the Philippine Stock Exchange. 

SFCC also has a 10-year plan for its IT infrastructure that will eventually include networks, content delivery, laboratories and case studies in a practical environment with industry participants.

 The new kid on the block is situated on a 3.1-hectare campus, which will have space for up to 10,000 students once fully developed, according to Garcia.

 The succeeding phases of the campus will include an expanded 53-classroom main building bridged to a multi-level school building with sports facilities and a bigger library. 

There will also be an 888-seat auditorium, a landmark communications tower, and a hotel that will be operated by the students themselves.