AS ONE of the thrusts made in line with the calendar shift, the Ateneo now looks into a more globalized integration of education and job opportunities by introducing global internships.
The global internships will pave way for more opportunities as Ateneans, particularly Juniors can already get internships not only in the country but overseas as well.
The idea was highlighted in the Career Fair held on April 11-15 at the Loyola Heights Campus.
In the General Orientation on Transitioning to Work (GOT Work) talk for Juniors, Assistant to the Vice-President of University and Global Relations (OVPUGR) Ma. Teresa Santos emphasized the initiative being made by Ateneo in syncing to global operations.
“The university would like to become a global university that’s able to address concerns, and more specifically, what we really want to do is produce global leaders with the depth of thought and imagination,” she said.
Santos said that the OVPUGR is currently working on joint and dual degrees and global internships.
“One exciting thing we’re really developing is the concept of joined and dual degrees. You do part of your course here, and then you do part of your course somewhere else, and at the end of it, you will have a degree from both universities,” she said.
She also discussed that global internships for Ateneans which will kick off in 2017.
“More than just arranging internships for you here in the Philippines, we are already beginning to make arrangements for internship placements for you not only here, but possibly overseas,” Santos said.
Adjustments done
Themed “Ascend to Greater Heights, Ready for a Brighter Future,” this year’s career fair underscored new career opportunities in different fields such as social development, consumer goods, finance, media, technology and telecoms.
In an interview with The GUIDON, Loyola Schools Office of Placement and Career Services (LSOPCS) Director Carmela Siojo said that the career fair is usually held in January. However, because of the calendar shift, changes in schedule were made which resulted on the rescheduling of the fair to April.
Although there have been a few adjustments, Siojo said that no problems were encountered, for the companies are willing to adjust their schedule of hiring, talent sourcing, management programs and internships.
“They’re willing to accommodate our students because I think they strongly believe that Ateneo has a big talent pool,” she said.
Siojo also said that the shift may have been of advantage for the Ateneo, for it allowed Ateneo to be “more globally connected” which could pave way for global internships.
She added that the LSPOCS gets updates by the OVPUGR regarding the calendar shift, to which they disseminate to their employment sector partners, “so that they could align their schedule with ours, [as well as] their talent sourcing and efforts with our new academic calendar.”
Siojo said that the dates of their major events were also changed in line with the academic calendar, such as the Ateneo Placement Exposure Sessions, General Orientation on Transitioning to Work (GOT Work) and Interview Performance Appraisal and Development, and the Career Fair.
She added that this year yielded the most number of participants in the career fair, as well as the jobs that Ateneans usually land on through the fair.
“This year, we have had the most number of participants in the 28th year history of the career fair, with a total of 117 corporate firms, schools, government and non-government agencies that participated,” she said.
“[As] you know, the biggest school is [the John Gokongwei School of Management], so majority [of the students appears] to go to corporate [jobs],” she said. “There’s also been an increase in students going to government or the public sector.”
From down the hill
According to Siojo, the career fair helps the students land on employment opportunities by helping them jumpstart their careers through their first job or internship.
“The career fair is a recruitment event that aims to help penultimate students which are the Juniors who are looking for internships, and graduating students looking for future employment,” she said.
Siojo believes that “one of the most important traits graduates must have to succeed in the global job market is cultural adaptability and developing cross-cultural competencies.
She added how employers now look beyond academic competency, for they also want well-rounded individuals who have sound work ethics and values.
“Now, employers assess candidates not only in the basis of their professional knowledge and skills, [or] what they know, but also, more importantly in their attitudes, values, their leadership potential, their communication skills,” Siojo said.
In line with this, she said that the Ateneo education “equips the students for both the local and international workplace through its holistic liberal arts education.”
Siojo said that the two components of the Ateneo curriculum, namely the core and the major.
The major curriculum, on the other hand, focuses on one’s field of specialization. According to her, it is constantly updated and revised in order meet global standards.
Moreover, Siojo emphasized that the core is a unique feature of the Ateneo education, for it is “intended to develop men and women precisely to be academically competent, as well as deeply rooted in Jesuit Ignatian values.”
