In 2019, the Aboitiz Group donated US$10 million to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) to establish the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (ASITE), one of the most advanced learning facilities in the region for data science and innovation. A cornerstone of the Group’s centennial anniversary celebration, the investment included study loan grants for aspiring students, which include Gilbert Chua. Then a government employee, Chua would go on to become a scholar, a data scientist, and a pioneer in one of the fastest growing industries here and abroad.
A trained physicist from the University of the Philippines, Chua knew the path forward for him was to earn a masters degree in data science, and the best institution that offered it was the prestigious AIM. There was just one catch—prestige and quality implied a heavy cost.
“The degree at the time cost around 1.5 million pesos. My job at the time could not finance it, and especially if I had to stop working and attend classes, because the degree was a 14-month full-time program. It was just a massive cost that would have been difficult to shoulder,” Gilbert explained.
But thanks to the partnership between the Aboitiz Group and AIM, Gilbert qualified for a scholarship loan that would help finance his studies. As part of the Aboitiz Group’s commitment to developing data science and innovation, it heavily invested in students which resulted in generous scholarship loan terms.
“I was surprised because I did not know of any other group at the time who was so willing to collaborate so deeply or bet so much on data science, since it’s still an emerging field. To me that spoke of how forward-thinking Aboitiz was,” Gilbert said. “It was a no-brainer for me to accept the grant. The terms were extremely generous—it was zero percent interest, paid for almost 90% of the cost, and had even more generous repayment terms. We were given a six-month grace period after graduating, and a five-year period to repay it.”
Gilbert recounted the many sleepless nights he spent on-campus just to meet his scholastic requirements. He says that AIM began to open its libraries 24/7 because of scholars like him. He emphasized that his studies at AIM were only possible, thanks to the support of the study loan.
The Aboitiz Group’s historic donation to AIM was meant to address the local and regional gap in data science and innovation by supporting degree programs, student loan programs, and sites and facilities. Gilbert is one of many scholars that became beneficiaries of the partnership and was part of the first batch of loan grantees.
“We are thrilled to see our vision for the Aboitiz School of Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship come to life through the success of scholars like Gilbert Chua. Our investment in AIM was an investment in people as leaders of the future. Gilbert's journey from scholar to data scientist illustrates the transformative impact of education and our dedication to empowering people,” said Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz.
After graduating with his Master of Science in Data Science degree, Gilbert later joined the Aboitiz Group, which had recently formed its own data science and artificial intelligence arm, Aboitiz Data Innovation, Inc. (ADI). ADI has since become one of the key components of the Aboitiz Group’s preparations to transform itself into the Philippine’s first techglomerate by 2025. A large part of that is becoming an agile business that embraces a start-up style and emerging technologies, such as data science.
“I chose Aboitiz because I saw them as the most principled conglomerate when it comes to data science,” Gilbert said. “Because of that collaboration with AIM, I knew that the Group put its money where its mouth is. That much investment proved they were serious about data science.” As of this writing, Gilbert has become a Principal Data Scientist at ADI.
Gilbert sees his long-term goals in leveraging his experience in order to work on more projects that directly benefit lives. For now, though, he’s happy that he has a job that values his expertise and gives him the opportunity to do more, especially for his family.
“Now that I have a proper data science position, I can finally give back to my family,” Gilbert says. He recalls how his family supported and sustained him throughout his arduous post-graduate studies. “It’s a good feeling, when you can finally give your parents comfortable lives, after everything they’ve done for you. Now, I can finally give back, buy them things they want. I am so thankful that I can do that now.”