A year of student programs and competitions across the world
Year after year, Far Eastern University (FEU) students have been making their university and country proud through their efforts both in and out of school. The academic year of 2005-2006 was no exception. From international summer programs in Italy and China to various competitions in the US and Europe, FEU students displayed a remarkable level of academic competence and ingenuity.
FEU has always defined itself as a student-oriented university. As such, it places special emphasis on giving its students not only the academic background but also the exposure that will prepare them for their future lives, resulting in numerous specifically developed activities and programs.
In May 2005, 10 students enrolled in the joint JD-MBA program of FEU and De La Salle University were awarded scholarship grant by the University of San Diego to study in Florence, Italy. With classmates from all over the world – Sweden, Germany, Ireland, United States, Greece, and Russia, to name a few– FEU students experienced cultural diversity at its best while gaining credits in courses like International Negotiation and International Intellectual Property Rights.
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The group in China | | FEU students left their mark not only in Italy but also in Boston when they returned to the prestigious Harvard University where they were back-to-back champions in the Annual Entrepreneurship Conference and Battle of the Business Plans. Sweet victory was the name of the game at Harvard as FEU entrepreneurs won the "Coolest Idea Award" in the March 2006 22nd Annual Entrepreneurship Conference and Battle of the Business Plans. Among 50 semi-finalists of the top universities in the US and around the world, FEU’s Dean Danny Cabulay from the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance (IABF), together with students Giancarlo Capco, Katchela Mcapulay, and Jean Paula Dula packaged coco sugar as a coconut juice-based healthy sugar. Dean Cabulay declared, "We are not only fulfilling our mission to produce competent and socially-responsible graduates, but also passionately producing world-class professionals and entrepreneurs." IABF’s Level 3 Accreditation allows Cabulay and FEU to design a curriculum to test the students’ academic competence and creativity which has brought them to Harvard. "Exposing our students to this kind of prestigious event helps them acquire a stronger sense of identity and greater confidence. We will always encourage our students and faculty to join these competitions both locally and internationally," said FEU Board Trustee Atty. Gianna Montinola.
In their quest to develop themselves as socially responsible professionals and entrepreneurs, FEU students qualified for a trip to Santa Clara, California, where they participated in the Silicon Valley Boomer Business Plan Competition. In the international competition, the FEU team consisting of Professor Gerald Villar and business students Marie Catherine Castillo and Tristan Jason Gallardo, reached the semifinals with their plan for a company that would produce affordable coffins made from recycled paper.
FEU students are also given ample opportunities to interact with their Asian counterparts. Jan Vincent Galas, President of the FEU Central Student Organization, is to leave in July for an 11-day Cultural and Education Exposure trip to Korea. Just recently, 17 FEU students and faculty members returned from a two-week program in Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou, China, as part of an educational and cultural exchange program. In exchange for their efforts to help their counterparts from the Hangzhou-based institution learn English better, the FEU ambassadors learned about China’s rich heritage and cultural traditions. FEU strongly advocates the promotion of English proficiency.
Undeniably, the little pebbles that were thrown by Far Eastern University students, have left ripples of academic progress not only in the Philippines, but also overseas. Through their journeys, these FEU student-ambassadors have proven their academic vigor and vitality in the international community.
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