In the interest of providing employment opportunities for Louisian alumni and the graduating students of January 2023, Saint Louis University led a career fair with the theme, “Local Markets for Global Talents.” The said fair was held at the Bishop Carlito Cenzon Sports Center on October 7, 2022. More than twenty companies opened their doors and helped Louisians get hired on the spot.
Graduating students from the School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts, School of Nursing, Allied Health and Biological Sciences, School of Engineering and Architecture, and the School of Accountancy, Management, Computing and Information Studies participated in the whole-day career fair.
Companies that participated in the fair include Aboitiz Hedcor, AMVISCORP, Angeles University Foundation Medical Center, Baguio Country Club, Baguio General Hospital and Medical center (BGHMC), Central Azucarera de Tarlac and Green Future Innovations, Inc., Concentrix, Giant International Software Station Inc., I-QOR, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), JG Summit Petrochemicals, Monol International Education institute, New Media Services, Noble Trends Unbound, Inc., Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Rang-ay Bank, Rockwell Land Corp., Sacred Heart of Jesus MC, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Sitel, TechnoDream Web, Teleperformance, Test Solution Services, Texas Instruments Philippines, The Medical City Clark, Toyota Baguio, Union Galvasteel (PHINMA), and Universal Leaf Co.
Local Markets for Global Talents: Promoting Global Competence for Employability
Since employers are the main beneficiaries of universities’ educational product and therefore best suited to assess the quality of the educational product delivered, SLU makes every effort to reach out to as many business partners and employers as possible. The fair gathered locally-based multinational companies and local enterprises that were willing to internationalize. Theses businesses represented potential employers for SLU students to improve their global competence (global mindset, global knowledge, global work skills) through the project.
To liaise between the students and employers and to promote global competence as a key tool for employability, SLU organized and held the one-day career fair. The said event invited employers with a platform and opportunity to present their companies and talent management strategies. SLU students were offered the chance to engage in one-on-one sessions with the employers and to present their portfolios and intercultural experiences.
Career Fair 2022: Built Around Erasmus+ Internationalization at Home (IaH)
The Erasmus+ project entitled, “Furthering International Relations Capacities and Intercultural Engagement to Nurture Campus Diversity and to Support Internationalization at Home” (FRIENDS) combines the expertise of 4 European program country higher education institutions from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Turkey, as well as of 12 partner country higher education institutions – two in Bhutan, Cambodia, and Malaysia, three each in the Philippines and Thailand.
The project is built around the concept of Internationalization at Home (IaH) that reframes the traditional perceptions of higher education internationalization in the five Partner Countries involved (Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand). IaH is based on the assumption that for various reasons, the most significant part of the universities’ student body will remain non-mobile and therefore deprived of access to global knowledge and skills.
The concept of Internationalization at Home (IaH) that reframes the traditional perceptions of higher education internationalization is an effective strategy to respond to low student mobility, the lack of inter-cultural education on campuses, and inadequate support systems for international students that the project tackles.
