100 students immerse in Ayala Group’s transformative internship journey

The Ayala Group recently hosted 100 students in a transformative internship program that aims to help them thrive in their professional lives.

The Ayala Group Summer Internship Program (AGSIP) is a six-week journey that combines real-world experience with an opportunity for interns to find their own purpose and values that will help mold them into Ayala’s next-generation talent. 

This year’s batch of students come from 20 schools across the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.  

“AGSIP is integral to our commitment to the development of next-generation talent not just for the Ayala Group but for the country. The internship provides the students not just practical, on-the-job experience in Ayala companies but also guides them in identifying their own personal purpose and values that we believe should be at the core of their future pursuits,” said Ayala Corporation Chief Human Resources Officer Franciso Romero Milán.

During their six-week journey, the interns immersed themselves in Ayala’s various businesses.

At their onboarding in June, the students learned all about Ayala’s history and evolution into one of the country’s largest conglomerates.

They also recently toured the ACEN plant in Alaminos, Laguna and took part in an activity where they helped plant nearly 500 fast-growing native trees.

Furthermore, they took part in a masterclass with human resources chiefs across the Ayala Group, including ACEN, Ayala Land Inc., BPI and Globe. In this session, they learned about how companies under the Ayala Group put their respective purpose and values into action. The interns also received guidance on how to craft their own purpose and values.

Among the highlights was a hackathon hosted by GCash, in partnership with AWS and BPI. In this event, they got to use generative AI and no-code AWS tools for creative problem-solving.

The internship culminated in a masterclass where four senior Ayala leaders shared how they apply Ayala’s core values in making strategic and critical decisions.

AGSIP trainee Wano Henson, a mechanical engineering student from the De La SalleUniversity, said the Ayala internship made him realize the importance of connections.

“Growing up I was quite a shy person and being in AGSIP and being in these situations where you have to do so much teamwork, I’m realizing how important it is to get that network and to be able to cooperate effectively, no matter who they are,” he said, adding that he has learned to focus more on things that matter.

William Openshaw, a geology student from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, meanwhile, said the internship made it clear to him what he wants to do next.

“Before this internship, I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I wanted to be with my future. I think this internship, this experience, has really taught me a lot about what I want to do with my life and what direction I want to go, what things do I like, what things do I not really like. It just gave me a lot of direction, which I’m really happy about,” he said.

For Glyzel Estillore, intern from the Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, the internship gave her a clear picture of how to do business right.

“I’ve come to know that when it comes to business, it’s not just about the money. What’simportant is what you’re giving to the people, the mark that you’re leaving. Better yet, give the best impact you could to people,” she said.

For more information about AGSIP, visit ayala.com.

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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Ayala Corporation.