vivo Club kicks off campus tour at NU

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Bringing together young talent and a shared passion for self-expression, vivo Club kicked off its campus tour with National University Dance Company (NUDC): The Dawgpound, held on September 13 at NU Nazareth School’s St. Candida Hall.

Supported by vivo Philippines, the event celebrated NUDC’s fourth anniversary with a dynamic community of dancers, choreographers, and student creatives from different institutions.

For vivo Club, the celebration marked an important milestone as its Gen V fellows and core team brought their first campus tour to life, taking an active role in preparing for the event and engaging with fellow students throughout the day.

Celebrating talent and community

The celebration featured three competition categories that showcased different forms of dance and performance: The Yard, a 1 vs. 1 Open Styles Battle; The Den, a Solo, Duo, or Trio Choreography Showcase; and The Pack, an 8–12 member Mini Crew Competition.

The competitions brought together emerging dancers and crews, culminating in an evening that celebrated individuality, collaboration, and performance.

AJA emerged as champion of The Yard, with SLHENDERMAN as finalist. In The Den, Ash took first place, followed by Ellin Imperial and Duttyvybazz. Meanwhile, Undefined Crew claimed the top spot in The Pack, followed by Full Artist’e Dance Company and Outlaws Alliance Dance Crew.

Undefined Crew also received the vivo Club Choice Award, recognizing the group for standing out through its performance and presence during the competition.

Building connections beyond the stage

While dance took center stage, vivo club created opportunities for students to discover and connect with the community. Interactive activities throughout the event helped the Gen V fellows engage directly with students.

The event also allowed students to experience vivo’s latest technology in a setting rooted in their interests and everyday experiences. The vivo X300 FE was featured at the vivo CLUB booth, while the vivo X300 Ultra powered the event photobooth, capturing moments that attendees could take home.

Where passion becomes a community

For the Gen V fellows, NUDC’s fourth anniversary was their first major opportunity to represent vivo Club and translate their own creativity, skills, and passion into an experience for their peers.

Their involvement reflects the spirit behind vivo Club: creating meaningful spaces where young people can connect through the things they care about, while giving them opportunities to take an active role in shaping the communities they belong to.

As vivo Club continues its campus tour, its first stop with NU marks a promising beginning, bringing technology, creativity, and youth culture together to create experiences that extend beyond the screen and into the community.

Follow vivo Club on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to stay updated on future campus tours. Students can also register as a member via the vivo website.

Addressing the brain drain: SM group brings higher education to the region

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Home to more than 84,000 students, National University’s (NU) presence in seven cities outside of Metro Manila has not only expanded access to higher quality education but also access to professional opportunities.

NU Cebu

These seven provincial areas include NU Bacolod, the university’s first campus in the Visayas, which has 96% local employees and the remaining are from other campuses who moved to Bacolod. NU Laguna has 99% local employees; NU Baliwag has 98% local employees; NU Dasmarinas has 96% with 4% transferees; NU Lipa has 98% local employees, and NU Clark has 97% local employees. NU Cebu, which opened this academic year, has 100% local hires.

NU’s presence especially in the provinces allows professors and students to access quality education and employment without leaving their hometown. The university’s standardized compensation package across its campuses attracts talent while helping address brain drain in the provinces.

“We bring talent back to the provinces. NU offers a standardized salary matrix applicable to all our employees across the country. This approach has helped NU make our recruitment more appealing to applicants in provincial regions,” NU President and CEO Dr. Renato Carlos Ermita said.

NU President and CEO Dr. Renato Carlos Ermita

Strengthening local ecosystems for work and enterprise by aligning education, labor, and development policies is necessary in combating the deepening inequality between urban and rural areas. SM’s expanding social footprint, in which most NU campuses are located, helps local communities retain their education talent, reinforcing access and contribution to the social economy. This underscores SM’s vision of responsible development of its host communities.

“NU is part of SM’s corporate social responsibility. By allowing the campus to be a part of the SM community, accessibility is achieved and affordability is maintained. Transportation hubs are also located near most of the mall-based campuses, allowing safety and convenience for the students and employees,” Dr. Ermita further shared.

Back home

In NU Cebu, one of Cebu’s returning locals is the campus’ Executive Director Johanna Minglana who shared, “We have all local hires, with three of us returnees from NU Manila where we were based when NU Cebu was not yet opened. NU Cebu gave me the opportunity to come full circle in my birthplace after decades of growing up in Manila while continuing my academic career.”

She shared how her sentiment also resonates with the faculty and employees, “they shared how working at NU Cebu has allowed them to pursue meaningful careers without having to leave their families or communities. They speak of a better sense of purpose—being able to contribute to nation-building through education while remaining rooted in the culture and values of their hometown. Our stories are not isolated—they reflect a broader impact of NU Cebu’s commitment to regional development and talent retention.”

The Cebu campus, according to Executive Director Minglana, is a testament to how NU embodies SM’s vision of being a catalyst for community development. “Having been in the NU system since 2012, I’ve seen how our goals align with SM’s broader purpose. What keeps me here is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our students and to contribute meaningfully to the development of my hometown. It’s a privilege to be part of a transformative journey that uplifts not just individuals, but entire communities.”

For Executive Director Minglana, NU Cebu’s presence in a local community like Cebu goes beyond education. “It stimulates the local economy by creating jobs—not only within the university but also in surrounding businesses such as food establishments, boarding houses, transportation services, and retail. Our students, faculty, and employees contribute to the vibrancy of the local economy through their daily needs and activities in a fun, safe, and secure place.

As the university celebrated its 125th founding anniversary, its quasquicentennial year, recently at the SM MOA Sky, thousands of NU alumni attended the event. This, as NU aims to continue providing its students, eventually graduates, with world class and life-ready education to enable them to be competitive in whatever arena they are in, provincial or otherwise.