SM addresses brain drain, brings higher education to regions

Home to more than 84,000 students, National University’s (NU) presence in seven cities outside of Metro Manila has not only expanded access to higher-quality education but also access to professional opportunities.

These seven provincial areas include NU Bacolod, the university’s first campus in the Visayas, which has 96 percent local employees, and the remaining are from other campuses that moved to Bacolod.

NU Laguna has 99 percent local employees; NU Baliwag has 98 percent local employees; NU Dasmarinas has 96 percent with 4 percent transferees; NU Lipa has 98 percent local employees and NU Clark has 97 percent local employees. NU Cebu, which opened this academic year, has 100 percent local hires.

Quality education and employment

NU’s presence, especially in the provinces, allows professors and students to access quality education and employment without leaving their hometown. The university’s standardized compensation package across its campuses attracts talent while helping address brain drain in the provinces.

“We bring talent back to the provinces. NU offers a standardized salary matrix applicable to all our employees across the country. This approach has helped NU make our recruitment more appealing to applicants in provincial regions,” NU president and CEO Dr. Renato Carlos Ermita said.

Strengthening local ecosystems for work and enterprise by aligning education, labor, and development policies is necessary in combating the deepening inequality between urban and rural areas.

SM’s expanding social footprint, in which most NU campuses are located, helps local communities retain their education talent, reinforcing access and contribution to the social economy. This underscores SM’s vision of responsible development of its host communities.

“NU is part of SM’s corporate social responsibility. By allowing the campus to be a part of the SM community, accessibility is achieved, and affordability is maintained. Transportation hubs are also located near most of the mall-based campuses, allowing safety and convenience for the students and employees,” Dr. Ermita further shared.

Back home

In NU Cebu, one of Cebu’s returning locals is the campus’s Executive Director Johanna Minglana, who said, “We have all local hires, with three of us returnees from NU Manila, where we were based when NU Cebu was not yet opened. NU Cebu gave me the opportunity to come full circle in my birthplace after decades of growing up in Manila while continuing my academic career.”

Minglana shared how her sentiment also resonates with the faculty and employees, saying that “they shared how working at NU Cebu has allowed them to pursue meaningful careers without having to leave their families or communities. They speak of a better sense of purpose — being able to contribute to nation-building through education while remaining rooted in the culture and values of their hometown. Our stories are not isolated — they reflect a broader impact of NU Cebu’s commitment to regional development and talent retention.”

The Cebu campus, according to Minglana, is a testament to how NU embodies SM’s vision of being a catalyst for community development. “Having been in the NU system since 2012, I’ve seen how our goals align with SM’s broader purpose,” she said.

“What keeps me here is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students and to contribute meaningfully to the development of my hometown. It’s a privilege to be part of a transformative journey that uplifts not just individuals, but entire communities,” the NU Cebu executive director added.

Goes beyond education

For Minglana, NU Cebu’s presence in a local community like Cebu goes beyond education. “It stimulates the local economy by creating jobs — not only within the university but also in surrounding businesses such as food establishments, boarding houses, transportation services and retail,” she said.

“Our students, faculty, and employees contribute to the vibrancy of the local economy through their daily needs and activities in a fun, safe, and secure place,” Mingalana added.

Thousands of alumni attended the university’s 125th founding anniversary, its quasquicentennial year celebration at the SM MOA Sky, recently. This, as NU aims to continue providing its students, who will eventually be graduates, with world-class and life-ready education to enable them to be competitive in whatever arena they would find themselves in, provincial or otherwise.

NU is part of the SM Group whose holding company, SM Investments Corporation is one of the leading Philippine companies invested in market-leading businesses in retail, banking, and property. SMIC also invests in ventures that capture high-growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy.