Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has been at the forefront of empowering Filipinos to become more future-proofed through education and knowledge-sharing, in line with its "Tech-Up Pilipinas" advocacy.

Through its UBPXcellerator Program, UnionBank has crossed another milestone in its advocacy of "teching-up" Filipinos with the launch of the UB Innovation Garage, in partnership with De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

Located at The Atrium DLS-CSB Campus, the Innovation Garage is a learning facility where students can learn from experts and gain knowledge on topics ranging from emerging technologies to management skills and design thinking and everything in between, so they can thrive professionally in the digital world.

As part of the partnership, DLS-CSB and experts from UnionBank's learning and development team will be running the classes to be conducted in the Innovation Garage. UnionBank's Human Resources team will also work with DLS-CSB for student mentorship opportunities and placements, and even help top-performing students become part of the UnionBank family as professionals, where they can further improve their knowledge and skills.

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the learning facility last 17 July, UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista said that when the bank was looking for a partner for the Innovation Garage, DLS-CSB was a clear candidate as the school was a popular choice among students looking to get into creative or digital-learning careers.

"With the innate creativity of the Filipinos, we could be among the best in Southeast Asia if not the world, and this is one area where we can compete with the very best. And so, when we thought about who we can help, DLS-CSB felt like a natural choice," Bautista said. "I hope that with this [Innovation Garage], you can be the Center of Excellence not just for the La Sallian schools, but a Center of Excellence for the country."

The launch of the Innovation Garage is the latest development in UnionBank and DLS-CSB's long-running partnership that started in 2018. Other notable efforts borne from the partnership include numerous Xcellerator courses offered to DLS-CSB students, as well as an elective in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence inspired by UnionBank's participation at the Singapore Fintech Festival.