UST’s upcoming Henry Sy Sr. Hall to boost health education

The Henry Sy Foundation Inc., pursuing its objective of driving Philippine social development by fostering the youth and the culture of excellence through education, recently inked a partnership with the University of Sto. Tomas Research and Endowment Foundation to construct a building that will elevate health education in the country.

Named in honor of the late SM founder, the Henry Sy Sr. Hall of UST will rise on the main campus in Manila to respond to the needs of digital medical education.

The Hall will feature technologically advanced facilities and equipment that will complement UST's teaching, learning, and research practices. Focused on interdisciplinary collaboration in medical studies, it will also house the simulation and research facility of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.

Fr. Richard Gaw Ang, OP, Rector of UST, thanked the Sy family for the opportunity to work together to provide the best education to future physicians, and to increase UST's research productivity which can help fill the gaps where communities are disadvantaged.

"Your family consists of industry leaders who have visions for the Filipino community. Your choice to support this endeavor of the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is a significant stamp of approval to the work and tradition of this medical institution," Ang said in a letter to the Sy family.

"Your family's Patriarch, Henry Sy Sr., had principles in life that we, as an institution, give our best to also follow. We aim to lead as paragons with passion, integrity, far-reaching and optimistic vision, sensible priorities, and discipline. At the core of this is a deep sense of charity for God, the church, and the nation," Ang added.

Rising as an intellectual hub for future physicians, the Henry Sy Sr. Hall will have a dedicated floor for the Faculties of Medicine and Surgery Research Center and the Medicine and Surgery Graduate Programs and Ethics Review Board. Here, medical education research and various medical-related specialty research will be reviewed and conducted.

The building will include specialized centers, rooms, and laboratories, such as Medical Simulation Centers and Care Ultrasound Institute, and Otorhinolaryngology Laboratory. These will be equipped with cutting-edge tools and technology to develop medical students' competencies in multiple simulated healthcare settings crossing the human lifespan.

The HSFI is a non-stock, non-profit organization inspired by SM founder Henry Sy Sr.'s desire to aid educational institutions to drive Philippine social development. Its projects are undertaken in partnership with the SM group and its foundations to honor the SM founder by supporting educational institutions in promoting academic excellence as a key to a brighter future for the youth.

Through the years, the foundation has established and supported several academic infrastructures such as the Henry Sy Sr. Primary School Building in Xavier School, Nuvali Laguna; Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center in Miriam College, Quezon City; NU Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna; NU Nazareth School in Manila; and a Henry Sy Sr. Hall each at Immaculate Conception Academy-San Juan City and Assumption College.