iAcademy to boost Cebu’s ‘Creative Hub’ positioning

CEBU, Philippines —  Makati City-based iAcademy opened its first out-of-Manila campus in Cebu helping the province in its bid to sustain its wealth by providing top-notch manpower supply in design and technology.

“We’ve started the inevitable. To expand is the only way to bring non-traditional, specialized education closer to every aspiring tech and creative, and we couldn’t think of a better place for the first campus outside Makati but Cebu - it is rapidly progressing and we join them in their pursuit to make it the next tech and creative hub,” said Raquel Perez Wong, chief operating officer (COO) of iACADEMY, during the formal opening of its Cebu Campus located at the 5th Floor of Filinvest Cebu Cyberzone Tower 2, in Brgy. Apas, Lahug, Cebu City.

Initially, the iAcademy Cebu Campus offers specialized programs such as Software Engineering, Game Development, Animation, Real Estate Management, and Multimedia Arts.

In an interview, Wong said Cebu’s designation as Creative City by Unesco prompted the school to invest on expansion in Cebu, considering also that its Makati campus continuously attracts students from Cebu.

Known for its strong partnership with industry players that delivers a 96 percent placement rate, iAcademy Cebu Campus also intends to partner with local industry players here, working together with its advisory council in Manila.

“We have grown exponentially from the mere 1 floor in Ayala Avenue building to the 11-floor iACADEMY Plaza building, and now to our very own iACADEMY Nexus Campus that houses 2,500 students or as what we call them, Game Changers. This is the kind of success that we intend to bring to Cebu,” she added.

The Cebu campus currently has four classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, a Cintiq lab, MMA lab, a Green Room, and a student lounge.

“I am thrilled to share the programs that we have prepared for our Cebu campus and to be working with industry professionals who are willing to share their time and talent as professors to mold future Game Changers,” said Mitch Andaya, Vice President for Academic Affairs for Cebu Campus.

iACADEMY is known for its industry-aligned curriculum and professors who are rock stars in their own chosen fields. Some of their notable alumni are Mikey Sevilla, Joshua Villena, Emman Rinoza. Their students are always engaged in projects that contribute solutions and positive change - they developed the first physical distancing app called Maze, the Experience Philippines App of the Department of Tourism that has the Augmented Reality feature, OCDrone – a solar-powered water waste collecting tool control simply with a mobile phone, to name a few.

The Cebu Campus was formally inaugurated on January 21, 2023 graced by Cebu City vice mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who said that iAcademy’s entry to Cebu is in the right timing as the City is re-activating its positioning as a “Creative Hub”. This specialized academy known to produce top-notch design and technology talents is a boost to Cebu, Garcia said.

The iAcademy Cebu Campus targets to enroll at least 200 students by the school year 2023-24.