By James A. Loyola STI Education Services Group, Inc. (STI ESG) has started the construction of STI Academic Center Legazpi where it will invest P391 million for top-of-the-line facilities and equipment. "In our pursuit of academic excellence, we constantly upgrade our campuses and facilities to deliver our promise to make real life education accessible for the Filipino youth across the country," said STI ESG President Peter K. Fernandez. Located on a 4,149 square-meter property at Rizal St., Cabangan East, Legazpi City, the six-story school building will house air-conditioned classrooms with flat screen TVs, student activity centers with Internet connection, industry-grade simulation laboratories, audio-visual room, kitchen facilities, cafeteria, and a covered multipurpose gymnasium among others. Fernandez noted that the soon-to-rise STI Academic Center is strategically positioned to accommodate the many potential students in the highly urbanized and densely populated city. Expected to be completed in June 2019, the STI Academic Center Legazpi can accommodate up to 4,000 senior high school and college students. It will offer in-demand courses and relevant programs in Information & Communications Technology, Business & Management, Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, Engineering, and Senior High School. For the last eight years, 11 new school facilities were constructed for existing wholly-owned schools. Starting April 2017, STI ESG began the construction of six more school buildings as part of its expansion program. These six soon-to-rise academic centers are located in Pasay-EDSA, Lipa, Tanauan, Sta. Mesa, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, and Davao. STI ESG decided to shift its focus to an organic expansion instead of a geographical expansion. "We are not opening new campuses, instead we are building better school facilities for our existing schools so that they can continue to deliver quality education in improved spaces," Fernandez explained.