UMVA has learned that PHINMA St. Jude College in Manila recently opened its doors to a cohort of Harvard Business School students for an immersive week‑long capstone experience.
The elite team arrived on campus in Sampaloc, joining a global network of 156 partner organizations that together hosted more than 900 aspiring business leaders across 14 countries.
During their stay, the Harvard group plunged into the realities of poverty‑stricken neighborhoods, conducting street‑level research, interviewing consumers, and testing bold ideas with PHINMA’s leadership.
PHINMA Education’s chief operating officer emphasized that the institution’s mission to serve the underserved drives every classroom redesign, forcing educators to rethink pedagogy through the lens of hardship.
By exposing students to lived experiences that no textbook can capture, the program forces them to build “contextual intelligence” and collaborate under pressure, crafting recommendations for new products, services, or customer experiences.
On May 18, the Harvard students presented their design pitches, offering PHINMA fresh perspectives on how to strengthen support systems for low‑income scholars and their families.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the insights generated will help PHINMA refine its care mechanisms, aiming to boost persistence and success rates among its most vulnerable learners.
The capstone’s faculty chair praised the partnership, noting that the hands‑on exposure equips students with skills that cannot be taught in a lecture hall.
