MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Eskwelabs, an online data upskilling school for people and teams in Southeast Asia, and the University of Nueva Caceres (UNC) publicly announced on March 8, 2022 the launch of a Data Analytics program via UNC’s Professional Employment Program (PEP). This new online program will be offered to graduating students of UNC’s College of Education to improve their employment outcomes through data upskilling.
Eskwelabs designed this course for the next generation of teachers and administrators to be capable of using data to improve the day-to-day functioning of schools, universities, education agencies, corporate HR teams, and any other establishment that interacts with education and human capital.
By the end of the program, the students would have earned data analytics skills—such as data visualization, data storytelling, statistics, analytical frameworks, and more—and a portfolio of projects that they can showcase in their CVs when they apply for work.
Eskwelabs CEO and Co-Founder Angela Chen stated that, “The pandemic has made all jobs more digital and teachers are no exception. As more classrooms go online and tools like Google Classroom, Zoom, and Learning Management Systems become commonplace, teachers are also expected to become more data-driven and use information about their students, like data on how learners are doing in each class, to improve the learning experience. By complementing the existing degree program at UNC, Eskwelabs will help boost graduates’ employability in the last mile of their undergraduate education.”
The objective of UNC’s Professional Employment Program (PEP) is to prepare their college seniors for industry success. PEP is conducted in the graduating batch’s final semester, a season wherein they’re placed in a professional work environment within their own classrooms. The existence of PEP is one of the many reasons why UNC, which is known as the first university in Bicol, is also considered a leader in the field of higher education. The university was first established by Dr. Jaime Hernandez back in 1948.
“Our core purpose is to ensure that everybody makes it. In fulfilling this core purpose, we are committed to our brand promise in producing graduates who are future-ready, work-ready, and life-ready,” said UNC President Dr. Fay Lea Patria M. Lauraya in her opening remarks, “We want to add data analytics skills to this future readiness of our graduates; therefore, we’ll look at it as a blessing that we have met Eskwelabs.”
Romeo Sumayo, UNC Vice President for Academic Affairs, also took time during the signing to express his thoughts on the potential of this ground-breaking partnership. He shared, “This experience that Eskwelabs will be providing will really impact the quality of education not only here in the university, but also in the entire Bicol. The long-term effect would be the entire country—positioning our students, our fellow Filipinos to be globally competitive. These are the academic advantages I have seen and recognized in our partnership with Eskwelabs.”
Michel Basister (Assistant Dean of the College of Education) and Jo-Ann Dancalan (Director of the UNC Career Center) were also present for the MOA signing.
This pilot program—a partnership that’s the first of its kind in the Philippines—is only the beginning. Eskwelabs is excited to work with other educators and to directly introduce to more university students the active learning elements that have already been vouched for by those in the industry. Launching other Career Accelerators for universities is currently in Eskwelabs’ roadmap, furthering the mission of democratizing access to data skills education so that people can thrive in meaningful careers in the future of work.
About Eskwelabs
Eskwelabs is an online data upskilling school in the Philippines with the mission of driving social mobility in the future of work through data skills education. Founded in 2019, Eskwelabs focuses on active, online, and cohort-based learning in data science, analytics, and data literacy. Eskwelabs’ pedagogy is recognized internationally and awarded by the Asian Development Bank as a winning solution for the “Digital Skills for Today’s Workforce” challenge. The co-founders of Eskwelabs are also recognized by Forbes as 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs in Asia.
About the University of Nueva Caceres
The University of Nueva Caceres (UNC), is a private non-sectarian university in Naga City, Bicol Region, Philippines. It is run by iPeople, Inc., a joint venture of Ayala Corporation and Yuchengco Group of Companies.
About iPeople
iPeople is a holding company that drives investments in the education sector. iPeople wholly owns and operates Malayan Education System, Inc., which operates under the name of Mapúa University. In 2019, iPeople completed a merger with AC Education, a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation. The merger brings National Teachers College, University of Nueva Caceres, and APEC Schools into the iPeople ecosystem to offer quality education to students across all income segments in the Philippines.
