AN EDUCATIONAL TRIUMPH
THE ASIAN Institute of Management (AIM) is one of the most prestigious business schools in the Philippines. It was established in 1968, on account of the collaboration of Harvard University, Ford Foundation and the top visionary academics and businesspersons in the Philippines, including Washington Z. SyCip, the founder of the accounting firm SGV & Co.
The project to create AIM began in 1956, born out of the idea of Ramon del Rosario, Sr., founder of Philippine Investment Management and Consultants, Inc., of inviting Harvard professors to Baguio to conduct a seminar or conference for Asian business leaders. The activity did occur, and was so successful that Mr. del Rosario, according to Mr. SyCip’s biography, Wash: Only a Bookkeeper, written by Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., was encouraged to explore the possibility of carrying the project further.
In 1966, Ford Foundation, which is based in the US, provided Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and the Philippine InterUniversity Consortium with a $1.2 million grant to kickstart the founding of a graduate business school in the Philippines. The proposal to do so was made by a group of Filipinos, which included Mr. del Rosario and Bobby Ongpin, then SGV’s managing partner, with the help of Harvard’s Graduate Business School. A feasibility study conducted by SGV Foundation under Mr. Ongpin’s leadership gained the approval of Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University in 1968.
Mr. SyCip was selected as chairman of the board of trustees. Speaking of his appointment, he said in his biography, “I was on a trip to Indonesia when they organized the board and it was one of those traditions where, if you were not there, you got assigned to do something. So when I came back, they said that I was elected the chairman. Again, I thought it was something good for the community and since our firm had been so deeply involved in the project, I agreed.” ( Mr. SyCip became AIM’s chairman emeritus in 2007). Stephen Fuller was named the first president of AIM.
Mr. SyCip made sure that the school would have the support of local businessmen. “To get the thing started, we went to two groups - Ayala for the land, and for the building we thought of Eugenio ‘ Eñing’ Lopez, who himself came from Harvard,” he said. Ayala Corporation donated 10,000 square meters of land, and an addition 3,000 square meters should the school expand, while Mr. Lopez gave what was then considered to be the largest cash donation - P6.5 million — to construct the school’s building and a dormitory.
Asian Institute of Management is now a highly regarded institution with the mission of sustaining the growth of Asian businesses and societies by means of developing professional, entrepreneurial, and sociallyresponsible leaders and managers. “We have established ourselves as the source of premier human resource development for the private and public sectors in emerging markets, especially in Asia,” the institute says on its website.
It takes pride in its eminent leadership, with the board of governors and board of trustees having prominent business leaders and academics as members; a multicultural environment; strong alumni network; curricula, courses and teaching materials developed especially for the conditions and needs of public and private Asian enterprises; a practitioner-oriented approach; though leadership; programs that are designed for practical application in the real world and that use case method as primary mode of teaching and learning; and its learning teams, in service of collaborative learning and leadership.
AIM is currently composed of three schools — the Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business ( WSGSB), Stephen Zuellig Graduate School of Development Management and School of Executive Education. The school named after Mr. SyCip offers two programs — Master in Business Administration and Executive MBA Program. These programs are global in terms of scope and content, but Asian in context and delivery. The WSGSB has produced more than 4,000 graduates from 27 countries so far.
The Zuellig School, meanwhile, has the Master in Development ( MDM) program, Executive MDM in Public Finance program, and several certificate programs. These programs seek to produce development catalysts capable of implementing programs on change management, public-private engagements and the like with the largest impact on the poor.
The School of Executive Education is deeply connected to the corporate world. Its vision is to develop Asian leaders and be recognized as the leading Asian center for excellent executive education and lifelong learning. Among the school’s offerings are short open enrollment programs and customized programs.
AIM has also established research centers intended to create venues for program participants and the general public to exchange ideas and propose actions. These centers are Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness, Ramon V. Del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility, Team Energy Center for Bridging Leadership, Dr. Stephen Zuellig Center for Asian Business Transformation, Gov. Jose B. Fernandez, Jr. Center for Banking and Finance, Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism. They have produced, and continue to make, valuable policy papers, briefings, case studies and books.
In the past 49 years, AIM has amassed various accreditations, awards and recognition from different organizations. It is the first educational institution to be accredited by the US-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, based on the highest international standards in the world. The first- ever Beyond Grey Pinstripes Award for Business School Innovation in Social Impact Management was received by AIM in 2001. In 1995, AIM won a Ramon Magsaysay Award — the Asian Nobel Prize — for its promotion of international understanding and setting region-wide standards of excellence.