IPEOPLE, the publicly listed Yuchengco-Ayala education partnership, introduced a first of its kind offering that enabled Filipino students to immerse themselves in global educational experiences with top international universities and a top Philippine university in a highly cost-effective manner.

Last year, iPeople school Mapua University and its daughter schools, Mapua Malayan Colleges Laguna and Mapua Malayan Colleges Mindanao, entered into a collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU), which has been ranked as America's most innovative university, ahead of Stanford and MIT, over the past eight years.

The collaboration was focused on business and health science programs. In the latest US News & World Report online program rankings, ASU's WP Carey School of Business ranked top 10 in the US across eight programs and disciplines, including the No. 1 spot for online bachelor's degree in business programs, and ASU's online bachelor's program in psychology was ranked No. 4.

Through this collaboration, the Mapua schools also became members of the ASU-Cintana Alliance, a global network of 15 of the most innovative higher education institutions in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Chris Hill, chief strategy officer and head of Asia Pacific at Cintana, said: 'We are delighted to be collaborating with the Mapua schools, whom we selected as our Philippine champions, because of their long-standing reputation for innovation and academic excellence. The recent ranking of Mapua as one of the top four Philippine universities, together with UP, Ateneo and LaSalle, in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, is clear evidence of the quality of a Mapuan education.'