A new high-end campus rises at The Fort

MANILA, Philippines - In the two-hectare landscaped McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio rises a well-planned campus that would contain seven Asian colonial-inspired academic buildings for business and international hospitality management of the Enderun Colleges, the newest higher education institution that matches the Ivy League colleges of America. The campus in Fort Bonifacio sets new standards for university design and construction and promises to be an iconic Philippine architectural landmark. All buildings will be finished by 2010.

Each of the seven buildings has over 1,000 square meters of classroom space and the buildings’ exteriors evoke a different era of Asian colonial architecture.

An “Embassy” houses the colleges’ foreign language faculty; a “Museum” hosts the general education faculty; a “Bank” is home to the management faculty and a 1,500 sq.m. Student Union will house the management and industry-related library and student recreational facilities, including lounges, meeting rooms and restaurants.

The Culinary Center, at the heart of the campus, is where Enderun students of international hospitality will master culinary principles and techniques after foundational training in the classical European tradition.

Aside from world-class facilities, Enderun Colleges is the only higher institute of learning that will be headed by a Provost, the equivalent of an academic manager (as opposed to business managers that usually run schools in the country), making it even closer to the standards of Harvard or Yale that are also managed by a Provost.

Its newly-appointed Provost, Dr. Lance Masters, was a (Ph.D.) student of the late management sage, Peter Drucker at Claremont Graduate University. It was Drucker who convinced Masters that his English name came from “school master” and that teaching “is in your blood.”

The Enderun approach to education is unique and highly differentiated where students work closely with faculty mentors, who are industry experts and professionals. Students also gain priceless real-world experience from intensive work internships both here and abroad, Masters told The Star during a recent visit of the campus.

The general management education is similar to the training business school students would receive, involving industry theory and history and the practice sciences and humanities. At Enderun, students are given a balance of theory and practice. All its degree programs are recognized by the Commission on Higher Education.

Enderun Colleges is partnered with Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland (hailed as one of the top hotel schools in the world) and the prestigious Alain Ducasse Formation in France in culinary education. Les Roches has campuses in Switzerland and Marbella in Spain.

A student may finish four years at Enderun; or may study two years at Enderun and then move to Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland or Spain or three years at Enderun and one year at Kendall College of USA for a degree in hospitality management. Its business course requires at least two internships before students can graduate, with one outside of the Philippines to broaden their horizons, build character and provide a real-life reference to the international nature of the program.