Leong Initiative for Ateneo internationalization launched

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo embarked on a move intended to widen its sphere of influence among schools abroad and eventually see an increase of the international student population as well as that of Ateneo students participating in international exchange programs.

University president Fr. Jett Villarin SJ said the newly-launched Leong Initiative for Internationalization will expand the university’s horizons further so “Ateneo will be a small school” only on the surface.

“Look more deeply and you will see the breadth of what we reach and what we try to reach,” Villarin said during the launch. He lauded the move since internationalization happens to be one of his strategic goals.

Ricardo Leong, who together with his wife Dr. Rosita Leong, is funding the initiative, said this will be a stepping stone in aiding the prosperity of the Filipino nation. Besides, he said “we have seen the benefit of internationalization when we sent our children to schools abroad.”

Fr. Jose Cruz SJ, vice president for university and global relations, added that with this new initiative, which he likened to the Aga Khan Music Initiative and the Clinton Global Initiative, about 10% of Ateneo’s students and faculty will come from abroad and will be participating in student exchanges with partner schools abroad.

He said it is not new that scholars and students work and study outside their home countries. “What is new are the scale and the scope, brought about in turn by the ever-increasing interconnectedness of the contemporary world,” Cruz explained.

Internationalization being one of the university’s strategic goals, Cruz said it is now imperative that Ateneo “instill in our students a sense of belongingness to the wide world even as they grow in love of country.” 

“We form them to take leadership roles in the country’s march to prosperity and in its effort to share what is good about us as a people,” Cruz said.