Not resting on his laurels
The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 has concluded its search for the country’s most inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc., with the participation of co-presenters Department of Tra
LYCEUM of the Philippines University (LPU) has always been committed to providing quality education and developing leaders, lifelong learners and globally competitive professionals.
Dr. Peter Laurel, 60, has continued this vision. From a small provincial school, LPU has become the first private, non-sectarian,
autonomous university in the country.
Mr. Laurel was asked by his family to help out with LPU, the school founded by his grandfather, former Philippine President Jose P. Laurel, in Intramuros, Manila.
After the success of the Manila campus, his father set up the Batangas branch in 1966, followed by the Laguna campus in 2000 and Cavite campus in 2008. Mr. Laurel presently runs the Batangas and Laguna campuses.
“The vision that has been propelling all of us is that you don’t need to go to Manila to get a good education,“he explains.
“So right where you are — like Batangas and Laguna — you can have an education that is as good as, if not better, than what you can get from many of the Manila schools.”
Mr. Laurel states that his grandfather was very focused on nationalism.
“There’s a saying here ‘No one can love the Filipino more than Filipinos themselves’,” he said.
As a distinct part of the curriculum, LPU runs courses on Jose P. Laurel’s teachings, including values and philosophy.
According to Mr. Laurel, the people of LPU is one their biggest strengths.
They focus on training and mentorship to put their people in the position to succeed.
Most of the members of the LPU Management Committee are homegrown and they are the ones who are most dedicated to the growth of the universities.
“The spirit of oneness is the moving force behind our success,” he explains.
LPU follows a system of meritocracy.
As a general rule, even family members have to meet certain requirements, such as graduate degrees, before they are allowed to join the business. This helps them professionalize the school and maintain a high level of competence and quality in its management team.
Innovation is one of the factors that drives LPU’s strategic direction.
FOCUS ON RELEVANCE
Mr. Laurel says that all program offerings should be relevant and responsive to the needs of future students.
Three years ago, his team set up a high school in preparation for the K-12 program and established a culinary institute and offer several TESDA courses.
LPU not only provides regular academic offerings, but also education for maritime professionals, lifestyle and short courses, as well as English language proficiency training for foreign students.
LPU will be opening a College of Medicine and College of Optometry, the first in Batangas.
LPU also houses the College of Allied Medical Professions, College of Business Administration, College of Computer Studies, College Of Criminal Justice, College of Dentistry, College of Education, Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management, and the College of Nursing.
LPU’s next objective is to internationalize the school and be recognized in the Asia- Pacific region.
LPU is the first Private NonSectarian University to achieve a QS ( rating system) three- star rating.
Mr. Laurel also initiated LPU’s internationalization by forging partnerships with academic institutions and companies worldwide. An example of this is its hospitality school, which is co-operated with the Dusit Thani Group.
Online classes is the next challenge LPU will take on.
“We expect that, over time, there will be less people in our classrooms,” expresses Dr. Laurel.
“So right now we’re developing our management systems. In the next three years 30-50% of the courses must be online through the Learning Management System platform.”
EXPANSION
For the next few years, LPU will be focusing on expansion. It plans to open campuses in the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone and in Davao City.
Mr. Laurel also spoke of other Bayleaf Hotels, run by LPU, in Batangas, Davao and Laguna, to complement its hospitality and tourism programs.
The Commission on Higher Education has awarded LPU Batangas the Center of Excellence for Hotel and Restaurant Management, Tourism and Medical Technology and Center of Development for Business Administration and Information Technology.
It is the first university in the Philippines to be granted full international accreditation for Hotel and Restaurant Management and Tourism by the International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education.
It was also the first university in Asia to be certified Gold by the Investors in People, a British international standard for human resource training and development.
Mr. Laurel, a recipient of a Go Negosyo award, believes that persistence is what got Lyceum of the Philippines University to where it is today.
“Success is in the small steps one takes every day,” he tells aspiring entrepreneurs, “not the giant leap.”
“I think perseverance in taking those small steps is what counts in the long run.”
The official airline of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2017 is Philippine Airlines. Media sponsors are BusinessWorld and the ABS-CBN News Channel. Banquet sponsors are Bench; Bounty Fresh Food, Inc.; CDO Foodsphere; Fiori Di Marghi; Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.; Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.; Intermed Marketing Phils., Inc.; Jollibee Foods Corp.; LBC; SteelAsia and Universal Harvester, Inc.
The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 will be announced in an Oct. 18 awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2018. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young. In the Sept. 29 The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 article, titled: “Pushing boundaries,” HCS Management Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Streegan’s furniture company should have been identified as Pacific Traders & Manufacturing Corp., which is under HCS, a holding company. The article may be found at