It’s been 29 years since Gokongwei brothers John, Johnson, Henry, and James established the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF). Through these years, the foundation has remained true to its commitment to help Filipino educators and learners achieve their full potential by leveling the playing field and enabling opportunities to make education within reach.
In particular, through its efforts to uplift the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the Philippines and increase access to it, GBF hopes to help pave the way for sustainable national development.
In fact, the foundation has committed itself to taking part in the learning journey of 10,000 educators and one million learners by 2025. To that end, new strategic imperatives have been implemented to help guide the organization as it grows:
A carefully organized three-year roadmap has been put in place to ensure that these plans are rolled out on schedule and in stages. The journey might be daunting, but the work has begun, with some of the seeds planted in the last year already starting to take root.
To further help grow the pool of competent and excellent STEM educators in the country, the foundation created the GBF TeachSTEM Scholarship Program, which supports outstanding present and future K to 12 science and math educators studying in centers of excellence for teacher education.
GBF has continued to team up with the University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED) for KaSaMa Teachers Community, a professional online community of Filipino K to 12 science and math educators.
KaSaMa Teachers was established by UP NISMED in 2011 to help science and math educators during the transition to the K to 12 curriculum. In 2019, UP NISMED and GBF began working together towards a shared vision of continuing to empower Filipino science and math educators.
As a partner, GBF built the community’s new home at www.kasamateachers.ph launched in January 2020 and has been helping in engaging and spreading the word about KaSaMa Teachers.
To help advance the country’s competence in the digital arena, GBF and JG Summit Holdings, Inc. partnered with the SAP University Alliance, a global program that aims to help educators and learners alike develop critical digital enterprise skills. In 2020, GBF sponsored the participation of the University of San Carlos and De La Salle University Dasmarinas in the program. Twenty-four teachers from the universities completed the training.
Financial support has been provided by the foundation to reputable institutions to strengthen academic programs that are vital to the nation’s progress, such as those delivered by Ateneo de Manila University’s John Gokongwei School of Management (2002) and De La Salle University’s Gokongwei College of Engineering (2011). Alongside student scholarships and infrastructure development, these endowments for JGSOM and GCOE significantly provides for faculty development, research, retention, and recruitment up to today.
Scholarship Program |
Enrolled Scholars |
|---|---|
GBF STEM Scholarship for Excellence (2011)For outstanding students taking STEM courses in top Philippine universities. Scholars are eventually offered employment at the Gokongwei Group. |
235 |
GBF NextGen Scholarship for Excellence (2010)For outstanding children and siblings of Gokongwei Group employees. Scholars excel in any undergraduate degree in any Philippine university and demonstrate strong leadership potential. |
120 |
DLSU Gokongwei College of Engineering Grant (2012)For outstanding students taking any undergraduate degree program at DLSU GCOE. Scholars are supported from first year until graduation. |
31 |
GBF Young Scientist Award Scholarship (2019)For outstanding high school and college students demonstrating global competence in STEM |
16 |
St. Stephen High School Scholarship (2012)A merit and need-based grant for students enrolled in the Chinese high school. Scholars are supported from Grade 7 to 12. |
9 |
Ateneo John L. Gokongwei Scholarship (2006)A merit and need-based grant for students of the Ateneo JGSOM. Scholars are supported from first year until graduation. |
8 |
GBF-Go Family Association College Scholarship (2019)A merit and need-based grant for members of the Go family |
8 |
Xavier-Zuloaga Scholarship Fund (2020)A merit and need-based grant for students of Xavier High School |
5 |
In partnership with URC, GBF grants fully-subsidized one-year technical-vocational scholarship to senior high school graduates interested in industrial machine operation. Belonging to low-income families in JUAN Communities, scholars board and train at the GBF Technical Training Center, undergo on-the-job training at URC, and are offered employment at URC as production operator or maintenance technician.
Iskolar ni Juan 2020 Highlights |
|
|---|---|
Enrolled Scholars |
58 |
Graduates (Cumulative) |
356 |
Programs Offered |
Mechatronics Servicing Instrumentation and Controls Servicing |
Certifications Earned by Graduates |
TESDA National Certification II |
Gokongwei Group Partners |
URC Branded Consumer Foods Group URC Sugar and Renewables |
In the same year, the community-based GBF STEM-Agri Scholarship was launched to provide support to children of current URC Sugar and Renewables (SURE) sugarcane planter partners, with hopes of encouraging them to the preserve the sugarcane planting tradition and eventually grow their own local agriculture business.
Scholarship Program |
Enrolled Scholars |
|---|---|
GBF STEM-Agri Senior High School Scholarship (2020)For URC SURE sugarcane planter partners’ children taking sugar technology in senior high school |
5 |
GBF STEM-Agri College Scholarship (2020)For URC SURE sugarcane planter partners’ children enrolled in an agriculture- related undergraduate degree program |
5 |
Aside from providing generous scholarships, GBF also actively supports programs that promote the pursuit and development of STEM education as part of its STEM advocacy. In 2020, it partnered with DepEd in staging the country’s annual National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) for the second year in a row. The winners had been scheduled to fly to Anaheim, California to represent the Philippines at ISEF 2020 with GBF’s support, but the event was held online instead because of the pandemic.
The students behind NSTF’s winning projects have also been conferred the GBF Young Scientist Award, which is given to young Filipinos who demonstrate global excellence in the STEM field. The accolade comes with a STEM college scholarship to encourage the students to pursue a STEM course as well as excellence in their chosen field.
In time, GBF hopes that its efforts to support NSTF can help make it as popular with today’s youth as the national Palarong Pambansa and inspire more students to develop an interest in science and mathematics.
Learn more about GBF Young Scientist Awardees and their winning works through videos here: www.youtube.com/gokongweibrothersfoundation.
The past year brought with it many unique challenges that didn’t just affect the country’s education sector, but also disrupted lives and displaced Filipinos all over the world. Navigating unprecedented calamities and an ongoing global pandemic, GBF, together with the Gokongwei Group, has done its best to be of service to the nation, providing relief and assistance to communities, healthcare workers, and institutions across the country.
The magnitude of crises in 2020 made it clear that more sustainable interventions were needed. In August, GBF and various companies in the Gokongwei Group strategically addressed areas where they could do the most good. Through the JUAN Communities program, GBF and Gokongwei Group companies work closely with select local government units in areas where they operate in order to provide responsive solutions to the needs of their schools, communities, and healthcare units that have been magnified or intensified by the pandemic.
To help schools in adapting to the next normal in education, GBF established the JUAN Community School Partners program. In carefully evaluating and helping address the needs of select educational institutions in underprivileged circumstances or catering to underserved sectors, GBF and Gokongwei Group companies hope to build the community through education that empowers them to make positive changes back to their community.
To help LGUs in strengthening public health management as communities rebuild and resume economic and livelihood activities, GBF worked with the Gokongwei Group companies in extending support to critical areas where they operate.
2020 has, indeed, been one of the most trying times for the country in recent history, but through these Bayanihan efforts, GBF hopes to rebuild the nation and help our communities get back on its feet with a strong spirit.
To help keep itself on track of its goal of taking part in the learning journey of 10,000 educators and one million learners by 2025, GBF has devised a two- pronged approach:
STEM education in areas where they can make the biggest differences while bridging the most severe educational and socioeconomic gaps that are rampant in smaller communities.
The plan starts with elevating the professional development of educators in the country. GBF has long recognized the role educators play in shaping the passions and interests of their students and the exponential power of their influence. Relying on both, GBF intends to increase TeachSTEM scholarships by more than 400%, from 29 as of end 2020 to 156 in 2021.
GBF also aims to grow the engagement and membership of the KaSaMa Teachers Community, which will help educators form stronger partnerships with each other as well as pave the way for a stronger STEM culture.
There are also plans to continue improving collaboration efforts with various academic and government institutions. Currently, the foundation is in the process of studying a flagship program under this strategic imperative.
This 2021, there are propositions to deepen scholarship engagement and establish better interventions to help scholars meet their full potential and become future co-advocates. Educators and learners alike can look forward to new development programs such as industry mentorships, new normal OJT programs, and a signature GBF leadership program.
There is also a clear mandate to strengthen JUAN Communities across the nation, extending centers of excellence scholarships and outreach work to adopted schools for both deserving students and teachers (across STEM and education fields). In addition, support to help these communities recover from the pandemic and calamities will continue.
It is GBF’s hope that these efforts, in cooperation with the Gokongwei Group and other advocates of positive change, will pave the way for a better future for Filipino families. And together, the entire country can work together to build the nation through education one community at a time.
