Ayala taps top schools for data center talents

MANILA, Philippines — The Ayala Group is working with some of the leading universities in the Philippines to develop the talent pool needed to run the growing number of data centers nationwide.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STT GDC) Philippines is collaborating with the De La Salle University (DLSU), University of Santo Tomas (UST) and National University (NU) in building a base of data center talents.

Under the partnership, STT GDC Philippines will undertake a series of programs promoting the data center industry to students of DLSU, UST, and NU.

Likewise, STT GDC Philippines will introduce industry content in the engineering framework of its partner schools. The firm will also provide internship opportunities to students who intend to work for a data center right after graduation.

Moving forward, STT GDC Philippines will also embark on joint research with DLSU, UST, and NU, particularly on cooling technologies, energy efficiency and security systems.

These activities are aimed at coming up with solutions to address industry pain points.

STT GDC Philippines will invite other universities to join the collaboration in line with the goal to generate a talent pipeline for the industry.

According to STT GDC Philippines president and CEO Carlo Malana, the partnership intends to provide students with a pathway toward the emerging industry of data centers.

“The key to securing the digital future of the Philippines lies in the hands of the youth [and] this partnership merges the academic expertise of esteemed university partners with industry insights from STT GDC Philippines,” Malana said.

Based on estimates, the data center industry in the country will grow by an average of 25 percent every year, boosting the economy through the employment opportunities that it will create. STT GDC Philippines plans to become a major operator of data centers in the Philippines.

In May, the firm started the construction for a $1 billion data center in Quezon City set to become the largest of its kind in the country. Once completed, the facility will run with an initial capacity of 25 megawatts, but it can be raised to as much as 124 MW.

STT GDC Philippines, a joint venture between Ayala Corp., Globe Telecom Inc. and STT GDC, was established through a $350 million deal signed by the parties in 2022.

The Philippines is eyeing to become a data center hub in Southeast Asia to attract tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta to locate their expansion offices here.