Ateneo and Unilab partner to form the next generation of nursing leaders

Ateneo de Manila University and Unilab Education, Inc (UniEd) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 2 October 2025 to launch the Executive Nurse Program, a pioneering initiative that aims to prepare Filipino nurses for leadership roles in healthcare institutions nationwide.

The partnership between UniEd, the education and training arm of Unilab, and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business–Center for Continuing Education (AGSB-CCE) reflects a shared commitment to nation-building through education that forms leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion.

Present for Ateneo were Dr Jowett Magsaysay, Dean of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business; and Marleth Calanog, Executive Director of the Center for Continuing Education.

Advancing Universal Health and Well-being

This initiative directly supports Ateneo’s Strategic Plan, Lux in Domino 2030 (LID 2030), particularly the strategic priority area of Universal Health and Well-being, which recognizes the urgent need to strengthen the nation’s healthcare systems and leadership capacities to make healthcare more efficient, accessible, affordable, and equitable.

Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, President of Ateneo de Manila University, emphasized how the program aligns with the University’s mission and values:

This partnership with Unilab Education and the Society of Nurse Leaders of the Philippines directly advances Ateneo’s strategic priority of Universal Health and Well-being under our Lux in Domino 2030Strategic Plan.

Even before the pandemic, our nation’s healthcare system was already ailing—from malnutrition and lifestyle diseases to mental health challenges. The COVID-19 crisis only deepened these wounds and revealed how much leadership our health sector needs—leadership that heals, empowers, and serves with compassion.

Through the Executive Nurse Program, Ateneo extends its mission of forming leaders with competence, conscience, and compassion into the healthcare field. It is our hope that by nurturing nurse leaders who embody these values, we can help build a healthcare system that is efficient, accessible, affordable, and equitable—a system truly rooted in care for the Filipino people.

Empowering Nurse Leaders for and with Others

The Executive Nurse Program is designed for current and aspiring nurse executives such as Chief Nursing Officers and Directors of Nursing. It combines academic rigor and practical insights from healthcare and industry professionals, following the AONE Nurse Executive Competency Framework.

Dr Noel Cortez, UniEd Chief Operating Officer, said the partnership reflects Unilab’s mission of enabling Filipino social mobility through education.

By empowering our nurses to lead, manage, and innovate, we are helping build a stronger healthcare system that uplifts both professionals and the communities they serve.”

The program’s pilot phase will focus on key leadership and management areas—strategic planning, financial management, organizational leadership, and quality assurance in health systems. Graduates will be equipped to assume leadership roles not only in hospitals but also in public health, education, and policy sectors.

A Force for Good

For Ateneo, this collaboration with Unilab represents a concrete step toward addressing Universal Health and Well-being—a strategic priority area identified in Lux in Domino 2030 that calls for deeper engagement, leadership formation, and systemic change in healthcare.

Guided by the values of magis, excellence, and being people for and with others, Ateneo seeks to contribute meaningfully to the country’s evolving health landscape by forming leaders who serve with skill, empathy, and purpose.