Ateneo JGSOM’s courtesy visit to the Philippine Ambassador in France and IESEG campus tour

Courtesy visit to the Philippine Ambassador in France

Enroute to Prague, Czech Republic for the International Leadership Association’s (ILA) 27th Global Conference last 15 to 18 October 2025 at the Hilton Prague, Dr Enrico C Osi, John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) Research Coordinator, had a brief stopover in Paris for a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Philippine Ambassador to France and a IESEG La Defense campus tour to promote Ateneo’s international partnership programs and explore research collaborations.

Dr Roberto Martin N. Galang, JGSOM Dean supported these initiatives “to further enhance our deep working relationships with French universities, and to reach out to our alumni faculty based abroad.” 

With this, last 13 October 2025 Dr Osi paid a courtesy visit to His Excellency Eduardo Jose A De Vega, Philippine Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of the Philippines to UNESCO at the Philippine Embassy in Paris. 

Ambassador De Vega warmly welcomed Dr Osi at the Main Reception area where the latter presented to His Excellency the book "John L Gokongwei Jr’s The Path of Entrepreneurship" authored by Marites A Khanser and a centennial collection replica of Fernando Zobel’s Paoay Church. Dr Osi also delivered the letter from Ms Cristina M Alikpala, Assistant Vice President for University Partnership and Internationalization. 

The letter expressed the University’s greetings and shared that the “Ateneo currently has 32 multilateral and bilateral partners in France, such as Icam, Lille Catholic University, Audencia Business School, and Rennes School of Business. This semester alone, Ateneo welcomed 65 French students coming from 14 universities across France. During their exchange in the Ateneo, the students take up classes such as leadership and strategy, business, and engineering courses. In the same way, Ateneo for this current semester has sent 37 Ateneans for their study-abroad in France, being the most popular destination for our outbound students.”

In addition, as “a testament to the depth of Ateneo’s partnerships and collaborations with French universities is the recently launched Bachelor of Science in Innovation Design Engineering (BS IDE) program, which is a joint initiative between Ateneo and Icam and the curriculum of which will definitely lead to greater student exchange between the Philippines and France.”

Dr Osi relayed that the Ateneo de Manila University remains committed to strengthening Philippine-French relations through “education, research and cultural exchange.”

His Excellency expressed appreciation for the visit of his former Grade School and High School classmate and stated “it’s a great pleasure to see you, Dr Osi. I salute Ateneo de Manila University for facilitating and pushing these exchanges between France and the Philippines. Animo! One big fight!”

IESEG Campus tour

Immediately after the courtesy visit, Dr Osi proceeded to the IESEG campus to meet Dr Jose Benedicto Duhaylongsod, former JGSOM colleague and now Assistant Professor of Operations Management and Project Management Course Coordinator (PGE) and Digital Operations Management Course Coordinator (PGE) at the IESEG School of Management. 

Dr Osi presented to Dr Duhaylongsod the book "John L Gokongwei Jr.’s The Path of Entrepreneurship" authored by Marites A Khanser and then toured the 3 adjacent buildings including their research laboratory, classrooms, library and offices. 

The IESEG School of Management is “one of the top Business Schools in France, and ranked 21st in the world by the Financial Times” and its key figures indicated the following: “8,900 students, 81% international professors, 342 partner universities, and 2500 partner companies.”

After the two-hour campus tour, Dr Duhaylongsod hosted a French dinner at Bistro des Lettres in Paris. Interestingly, this Bistro also hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte last year. The dinner was an opportunity to catch up on their respective academic journeys, shared research initiatives and possible collaborations including books and journals relevant to their research work. Dr Osi thanked Dr Duhaylongsod for a wonderful evening and extended an invitation to visit Manila again and conduct another Brown Bag Session which the latter had previously done last 2 April 2025 at the Ateneo de Manila campus.

With the productive courtesy visit to the Philippine Ambassador in France and IESEG campus tour, Dr Osi then traveled to Prague, Czech Republic for the ILA 27th Global Conference where he co-presented a study with his MSSM advisee-graduate Ms Jiamari Yzabelle C Kawachi, entitled “Exploring the Experiences of Collegiate Track and Field Athletes in Developing Pro-Environmental Behavior. A Qualitative Study Using the Transformative Sustainability Learning Theory.” Dr Osi also served as Session Chair for Presentation Group #33. Leadership in the Age of AI: Transformation, Inclusion, and Strategic Communication. 

Indeed, “as the world’s largest cross-sector assembly of leaders and leadership scholars, educators, and development professionals, the ILA 27th Global Conference offered an unparalleled experience that discovered innovative leadership research and practice, forged long-lasting connections, and engaged in meaningful discussions that advanced leadership practices worldwide.”