Philippines’ top schools join HK education expo

Capili

THE Philippines’ top three educational institutions participated in an education expo in Hong Kong held on February 23-26.

University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the De La Salle University had a booth at the HKTDC Education and Careers Expo 2017 held at the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre.

Jose Wendell Capili, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs and Director for Alumni Relations of UP, told Hong Kong News that 60 percent of inquiries received by Philippine educational
institutions were from Hong Kong people, and 40 percent were from Filipinos living and working in the city.

“We got inquiries from Hong Kong-based Chinese students who are interested in studying in the Philippines and we were surprised that the inquiries were not only from the parents, but from
the students themselves,” Capili said.

Filipinos working in Hong Kong were also interested in the UP Open University and online courses so they could finish their studies and gain additional degrees.

Foreigners who inquired, on the other hand, asked mostly about the security situation in the Philippines.

“I tell them that whether they are in New York or in London, they just need to go to safe places and there is no reason for them to be unsafe,” he said.

Capili added that Philippine universities offer low-cost quality education, with educators gaining their expertise from top educational institutions in the world.

“We stayed in the Philippines because we have the commitment to share whatever we learned especially to Filipinos. Umuwi kami sa Pilipinas because this is not just our source of livelihood but a
vocation to teach, inspire, and encourage our students,” he said.

About five percent of UP’s 40,000 population are foreign students.