According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. This implies that by-large, our current education system has yet to develop the skills necessary to succeed in this Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world. As per the same report, among the top 10 skills of 2025 are critical thinking and analysis, leadership and social influence, and resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility. Given this, the need for experiential learning – the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience – is even more pressing. This is exactly  what international education provides.

As students fly out to other countries to study, they are exposed to other cultures and experience living independently and away from home. They learn how to adapt, take initiative, and build resilience. This is what international education offers – an opportunity to hone the top skills of 2025 inside and outside the classroom. As one of Thames’ sayings goes, “The world is your classroom.” Despite this undeniable need for international education, this remains largely inaccessible due to the high investment necessary to avail it.

This opportunity is what Thames International School has been providing to Filipino undergraduate and graduate students for more than 20 years. Through Thames’ Twinning Program – where students study 2 years in the Philippines, finish their degrees in 1-2 years in the UK, Singapore, or Australia, and garner a foreign diploma – 150 students have been prepared for a VUCA world and have successfully finished foreign degrees in business, entrepreneurship, and the arts. As the pandemic comes to an end and borders reopen, Thames is excited to offer the Twinning Program to more students and expand its country coverage.

Welcoming the next academic year in just a few months, Thames has partnered with its first ever university in the United States – the University of North Carolina in Pembroke (UNCP). UNCP is a part of the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, a high-ranking public university system, which includes prominent universities like UNC Charlotte and UNC Chapel Hill. The latter is home to the basketball legend Michael Jordan who finished college there.

Owing to the similarities in the education system of the US and the Philippines, and the fervent desire of both institutions to provide accessible international education; they are offering partial scholarship to 41 undergraduate degree programs across STEM, business, music and the arts, and humanities and social sciences at 20% of the cost of a typical undergraduate program in the US. This will cost just as much as an SUV in the Philippines for a more worthwhile investment – our children’s future!

E-Commerce Tool Kit: How To Grow Your Business Online

by Ivan Andrew C. Combalicer, Thames International Undergraduate Student

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the survival of businesses all over the world. After being in quarantine for over a year, it is important to think not just of ways for your business to survive, but also strategies to make it thrive. Last July 21, 2021, Thames International conducted the third episode of the  “Setback to Comeback” webinar series entitled, “E-Commerce Tool Kit: How To Grow Your Business Online”. The panelists for this episode are Brett Doyle, Founder & CEO of Mosaic Solutions; Homer Nievera, Founder & Publisher of Nego Sentro; James Rumohr, Co-founder and Chief of Staff of Kumu; and Javier Villaruel, Owner of Bayongciaga. The four entrepreneurs shared the challenges and successes their organizations faced during the pandemic.

According to Doyle, when the pandemic started, he and his team were contemplating whether to bunker down and just hope for the best or go out and be helpful to the community and to their clients. They all agreed to pick the latter. They began by starting an initiative where they provided food for people in need. They helped their clients in the food industry to earn revenue by paying them with the funds raised from the initiative. The pandemic allowed them to onboard more clients compared to the past three years through the determination of his team to constantly improve their technology. He shared that “It’s important to take small steps, read the data, understand what it’s telling you and then take the next steps after that. Getting customers feedback and being able to react to it is really the key.”

Just like Doyle, Nievera found the pandemic to be a great opportunity to help the community while earning money at the same time. He reminded everyone to learn fast and fail fast since according to him, “Everything right now is a learning process… you have to have your own framework now.” He added, “We should have a mindset wherein we’re in a growth mode. We should be growing the business so whatever stage we are in, we have to look at growth because there’s no other way but up.”

Rumohr said that Kumu benefited from people staying at home. From four to five million users before the pandemic, they now have 11 million. Their team also grew from 75 to 350 regular employees. They were determined to build a community where users could join and keep using the app. They made sure to improve their features and updates to keep up with the number of users. He said “The best customers equals the best employees. Having employees and staff that know the products so well has been very beneficial.”

“If we want to thrive, we have to make sure to be ready for what lies ahead,” said Villaruel. His business had a hard time coping with the pandemic as the demand for bags decreased. They also struggled with logistics due to the lockdown and the fact that the products come from different points in the Philippines. He also said that he had to sacrifice his own salary and cut the salaries of his employees instead of letting them go. They created new products for plant lovers and offered gifting services for different occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s day, Christmas, etc. He reminded everyone that “Bouncing back is always possible if you have the heart and passion for what you do.” Then he also added, “In this day and age, the market is also digital and it’s so easy to build a brand and it’s also easy to destroy it simply because you didn’t prepare well for it.”

Joel Santos, the President of Thames International and the moderator of the webinar, shared the three permanent behavior changes brought by the pandemic; online shopping, online learning, and work from home. He asked the panelists about the impact of the three behavior changes on business from an e-commerce perspective.  Doyle said that being able to pay electronically provides comfort for consumers and can be one of the greatest drivers of consumer behavior. The rest of the panelists said that as business owners, this is the opportunity to look out for their staff. They all come up with ways to lessen the online fatigue and stress brought by the pandemic by organizing different virtual activities such as Friday nights out, virtual happy hours, virtual town hall meetings, etc. 

When asked about their outlook for 2022, Nievera said that his company will be busy especially come election season. He advised small businesses to create their own niche especially since there are many competitors in the digital world. Rumohr said that he will optimize their staff by utilizing their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses. Villaruel is busy preparing for Christmas. He is also looking forward to doing on-ground events next year. He said that he has to remain hopeful and positive for those who rely on his business. He added that the business leaders have to lead the way for the bounce back from the pandemic.  

Overall, the webinar received positive feedback from the participants. The panelists were well appreciated. One participant mentioned that they like how the positivity of Thames and the speakers gave them the courage to continue their business.

Having the right team and looking out for them in these difficult times is a great strategy for your business to thrive. Adapting your business with today’s situation won’t be easy, and Thames International is dedicated to providing guidance for businesses to not just survive but thrive.

Thames International is committed to building a new order for the world by giving talented students and entrepreneurs the tools to thrive and lead the way in a world beset by rapid change. If you’re interested in augmenting your skills and making connections with some of the brightest minds in business education today, please take a look at our future-proof undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Comeback for Food Entrepreneurship

by: Dani Marcelino, Thames International Undergraduate Student

July 14, 2021 saw the start of the second installment of Thames International’s “Setback to Comeback” webinar series. With Thames International president Joel Santos as the moderator, the episode, “Food Entrepreneurship: Success Tips in the Pandemic,” went off without a hitch. 

Joel Santos was joined by the individuals responsible for brands like the beloved Filipino classic “Lola Nena’s” and modern favourites like “Apéritif,” who reached acclaim and success within the industry. 

The speakers went on to talk about their experiences amidst the lockdown and quarantine, and how budding entrepreneurs can thrive within the mid-pandemic business environment and cope with the new difficulties and challenges it presents. 

Steffi Santana, the Chief Executive Officer of Lola Nena’s, had the following words to say: “Be innovative in terms of your product. Learn how to adjust to what’s now without losing focus so that it will not also confuse your customers”.

Despite Lola Nena’s long history, they’ve adapted to the new normal through the use of social media sites like Tiktok to show off their baked treats. From the drool-inducing Triple Cheese Donuts, to the classic Pichi-pichi, their product line really has reached the eyes – and stomachs – of many Filipinos.

Next was CSI FEELipinas’ President, Gabrielle Borromeo-Saładajczyk, who shared her thoughts about a certain business opportunity many Filipinos have been eyeing: “It’s hard to go into franchising because you have to make sure the systems are steady. You have to make sure that everything is the same quality. You cannot have one branch better than the other, it has to be the same quality for all, and it has to be the best quality.”

Being the “Culinary Scene Investigator” with the motto “We ONLY sell what we love”, Borromeo-Saładajczyk’s passion and experience certainly comes through on the CSI FEELipinas products: a curation of food from all over the Philippines, promoting the delicacies of various provinces one region at a time.

Following her was Rhea Sycip, the Executive Pastry Chef of “The Fatted Calf Farmhouse Kitchen”, a restaurant in Upland Silang, whose proximity to Tagaytay allows them to source their ingredients straight from the source: farmers.

“Brand authenticity is very important and you have to also recognize who you are and what your capability is. When you start something, your mindset is it should take you to success.” Sycip went on to say that “When you come up with a business concept, and if you believe in that concept you have to also think about where it will take you a few years from now, so you have to remain consistent and stick to that brand.”

Lastly, Karla Zulueta, the Founder and Co-founder of Apéritif and Pizzulu, shared her recipe for success: “First, branding is key. Second, a product line that is unique to the market. Seeing a gap in the market and filling that gap and making sure that the product line actually adds value to the market that you want to serve.”

This recipe has brought Zulueta great success, with Apéritif’s mouth-wateringly indulgent pastries and Pizzulu’s line of brick oven pizzas both having captured the attention of foodies everywhere.

The discussion that mixed teaching and storytelling, delivered with a casual vibe, was a hit among the participants. This allowed the participants to not only learn, but also chat, exchange business ideas and establish a network with the talented and successful entrepreneurs of this installment of Thames International’s “Setback to Comeback” webinar series. 

Thames International is committed to building a new order for the world by giving talented students and entrepreneurs the tools to thrive and lead the way in a world beset by rapid change. If you’re interested in augmenting your skills and making connections with some of the brightest minds in business education today, please take a look at our future-proof undergraduate and postgraduate programs.