BAROTAC NUEVO, Iloilo—From Iloilo classrooms to the hospitality industry of Hong Kong, 22 ISUFST students are about to begin a six-month international internship at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management students make up the largest SIAP delegation ever sent by the University.
The students traveled from Iloilo to Manila today, October 26, and are scheduled to depart from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 for Hong Kong tomorrow morning, October 27, arriving at Hong Kong International Airport on a two-hour-or-so flight. They are to return home from Hong Kong six months after.
The internship at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong, is scheduled from October 26, 2026, to April 22, 2027, based on the University’s formal application and subsequent CHED endorsement. The program brings together BSHM students from ISUFST’s Dingle Campus, Dumangas Campus, and Main Campus–Poblacion Site.
Representing the Dingle Campus are Allyssa Kate Devera Pelaez, Dairish Jade Dabuco Ajeco, Shanea Faye Dellomes Salazar, Irysh Gille Perono Valenciano, Carl Hero Cenizal Benajera, Joylyn Grace Maso Caalim, Miessy Piamonte Andrada, Trishia Samantha Cabayao Itucas, Clark Granada Delsolor, and Eliezza Pedroso Resol.
The Dumangas Campus delegation is composed of Althea Casumpang Alave, Myca Bedua Dongosa, Gerve James Espiritu Lanado, and Myca Capada Asprilla.
Completing the 22-member delegation from the Main Campus–Poblacion Site are Carla Araneta Atonducan, Denzil Ivan Bono Baco, Jhiffzy Tesoro Rodriguez, Alexandrea Buena Parman, Christal Jane Hermosura Ledesma, Joana Tives Cabareño, Joecel Kim Lamparero Padilla, and Kristiane Mae Regula Bejaran. The University’s application identifies all 22 as BSHM students, with the latter group completing the delegation from the three participating ISUFST campuses.
The overseas deployment received the endorsement of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) after ISUFST complied with the requirements under CMO No. 10, series of 2023, or the Enhanced Policies, Standards, and Guidelines on Student Internship Abroad Program. In its October 12 endorsement to the Bureau of Immigration, CHED stated that ISUFST had complied with the applicable provisions and had an approved Memorandum of Agreement with Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. CHED consequently interposed no objection to the overseas internship of the 22 students.
The rest of the needed documents and departure requirements were completed and in order before the students’ flight to Hong Kong. These included, passports and Hong Kong entry permits, round-trip airline tickets and flight itineraries, NBI clearances, and the required Bureau of Immigration documentation.
Before sending them off, ISUFST brought the students and their parents or guardians together for an orientation on the internship, their responsibilities, and life during the six-month training. The 22 were selected not only for their academic performance, but also for their leadership, character, and willingness to learn and grow.
The record deployment is also part of ISUFST’s continuing internationalization efforts, made possible through the shared work of the University administration, deans, program coordinators, faculty members, the Office of International Affairs and Linkages (OIAL), and other concerned offices. Just as important were the students themselves and the parents and families who supported them through the preparations for six months of training abroad.
Behind the students’ journey to Hong Kong is a shared effort across the University. Deans, program coordinators, faculty members, administrators, OIAL, students, and their families worked together through the preparations and requirements, all toward giving the interns a chance to learn and grow beyond the classroom—and beyond the country.
For six months at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, the students will experience hospitality work in an international setting. It will be a chance to put their lessons into practice, learn from people of different backgrounds, become more independent, and see firsthand how the hospitality industry works beyond the Philippines.
For ISUFST, sending its biggest SIAP delegation to date is therefore more than a numerical milestone. It reflects what internationalization can look like when opportunities abroad are built through collaboration at home—among the University, its academic units and offices, its faculty and administrators, and, most importantly, the students and families who make the journey possible.
As the 22 students leave the country for six months of training, they carry with them not only the names of their respective campuses but also ISUFST’s growing aspiration to give more students opportunities to learn, work, and grow in an increasingly international environment. (Julius Ruger Hermano | Herman Lagon | PAMMCO)
