STI unit, Huawei ink deal to provide ICT training to students

MANILA, Philippines - STI Education Services Group, Inc., a subsidiary of listed STI Educations Systems Holdings, Inc. of businessman Eusebio Tanco, has entered into two separate partnerships to improve its students’ skills and prepare them better for the real world.

STI is teaming up with global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei Technologies Philippines, Inc. to train students and develop their skills in the ICT industry.

Under the partnership, STI said Huawei would provide content from the ICT industry that would be integrated into STI’s curriculum for ICT programs.

Huawei will also make available its equipment and devices available for use in STI classrooms and laboratories.

“Huawei Enterprise BG is working with its partners to bring world class ICT products and solutions to the educational sector. This cooperation will also serve as a venue for us to share with the Philippine enterprise market how our products and services can benefit them and be an enabler of business growth,” said Gao Kexin, Huawei Philippines chief executive officer.

“This cooperation agreement will bring new opportunities for learning to STI students and give them the right tools that will prepare them for a successful job in the ICT sector. It is especially advantageous for our ICT students to experience this with a world-wide company as Huwei,” said STI president Monico V. Jacob.

Aside from its partnership with Huawei, STI is also joining forces for a senior high school program with the European Innovation, Technology, and Science Center Foundation (EITSC), an initiative of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP).

STI said EITSC has linked with the school and a number of ECCP member companies to provide dual training for STI’s senior high school students.

The program aims to provide training opportunities to students and develop their skills as early as senior high school in the area of business, production and services.

“STI has a network of 79 campuses with one university, where more than 80,000 students study nationwide. We have recognized that one of the glaring disconnects in Philippine education is the collaboration between the industry and the academe,” STI vice president for academics Lloyd Bautista said.

By 2016, STI said senior high school students in the culinary and restaurant services, hotel and events management, information technology, and tourism management programs would undergo training under the host ECCP member companies.

 “I am very encouraged by the cooperation between ECCP members, STI and EITSC, creating concrete steps to bring senior high school students closer to employment, making effective use of the K-12 program,” ECCP vice president Henry Schumacher said.