John Gokongwei School of Management partners with University of San Francisco and Javeriana University for Inspirational Paradigm Grant

The John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) through the Ateneo Family Business Development Center (AFBDC), University of San Francisco in the USA, and Javeriana University in Columbia was awarded the Inspirational Paradigm Grant by the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools (IAJBS). The three universities’ collaboration aims to create and implement an academic program that exposes students, instructors, and associated family-owned enterprises to real-life business situations, diverse multicultural contexts, and interdisciplinary approaches. Dr. Pilar Unidad-Tolentino, Assistant Professor from the Leadership and Strategy Department, represented the John Gokongwei School of Management and the Ateneo Family Business Development Center in this joint project.

The joint academic program enriches learning beyond what the typical family business management course covers. Beyond the foundational understanding of operational needs and complexities of families-in-business, the planned program provides a deeper reflection of the family business sector’s potential capacity to be a societal force of change. The program co-creates a deeper, broader educational experience. Learners, instructors, and businesses from different countries can learn, interact, analyze, and reflect together.