Manulife launches scholarships

MANILA, Philippines - The Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Manulife) has entered into a five-year partnership with the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman College of Science to increase the pool of talent in the actuarial field for the financial services industry.

Manulife will provide grants and scholarships to outstanding students and faculty thus encouraging enrollment in UP’s Actuarial Science program.

From 2010 to 2015, the life insurer will sponsor a professorial chair in actuarial science and up to 12 undergraduate scholarships in B.S. Mathematics and two graduate scholarships in the Professional Masters in Applied Mathematics (PNAM) or MS Applied Mathematics (Finance) program in UP.

Grant and scholarship funds donated by Manulife to the UP-Diliman College of Science will be given to talented and deserving individuals through the Diliman Science Research Foundation Inc.

“Our approach to giving is oriented toward long-term benefits to the community where we operate,” Indren Naidoo, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Philippines, said.

The Manulife undergraduate scholarships will be available to qualified freshmen and final year students at the UP-Diliman College of Science. Co-op and internship programs at Manulife Philippines and Manulife Business Processing Services will also be offered to interested students who intend to pursue an actuarial career in the financial services industry.

“We believe that there can be a productive collaboration between industry and academia. This partnership is an excellent example which is clearly bound for success,” said Dr. Sergio Cao, Chancellor of UP-Diliman.

Manulife Philippines is one of the leading life insurance companies in the country, and a wholly-owned domestic subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corp., among the world’s largest, North America’s second largest, and Canada’s largest life insurance company by market capitalization.

Manulife Business Processing Services (MBPS) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial created in 2006 to provide back office, accounting, finance and information technology services to other Manulife subsidiaries worldwide.

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were $440 billion as at March 2010.