04/09/2026
The Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business
Department of Management and Organization
invites the academic community to a
Final Dissertation Defense
Seizing the Opportunity for Curriculum Innovation: Paving the Way for Internationalization of the Applied Corporate Management (ACM) Program, DLSU
by
Ms. Maricel Balatbat
September 18, 2026 (Friday), 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/92008532888?pwd=WSMs0mqr2oBaCfbAjvLHgBg7POsJIq.1
Meeting ID: 920 0853 2888
Passcode: 488083
Dr. Ma. Paquita Diongon-Bonnet (panel chair)
Dr. Patrick Adriel Aure, Dr. Raymund Habaradas, Dr. Leveric Ng (panel members)
Dr. Bienvenido Balotro (external panel member)
Dr. Rachel Quero (adviser)
ABSTRACT:
This action research documents the three-cycle journey to internationalize the Applied Corporate Management (ACM) Program at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. The first cycle focused on establishing a formal partnership with Pforzheim University in Germany and on producing a proposal for a dual-degree program and a student exchange program as an interim step toward full internationalization. The second cycle navigated the strict regulatory requirements of the CHED memorandum on exchange programs with internships and pivoted to supporting student exchanges through the Office of the Vice President for External Relations and Internationalization's existing network. As a result, a number of ACM students successfully completed exchange programs in Asia, Europe, and Australia, and an informal Internationalization Committee and Internationalization Coordinator positions were established within the ACM Program. The third cycle focused on developing the DMO Internationalization Plan, a formal, four-component strategic document covering student mobility, collaborative online international learning, participation in PRME activities, and exposure to foreign professors and researchers. The plan was formally approved by both the ACM Committee and the full-time faculty of the Department of Management and Organization. The study is grounded in the Network Theory of Internationalization (Munusamy & Hashim, 2020), and the final emergent framework demonstrates that internationalization in a Philippine higher education institution does not activate all seven networking elements at once; it builds them one cycle at a time, starting from Partnership and progressing toward Market Pe*******on. The four program components are the practical strategies through which the networking elements are operationalized. Sustainable internationalization requires both relational work and navigating institutional processes. The most important lesson of this research is that meaningful and lasting internationalization is not achieved through any single decisive action, but through a patient, iterative, and institutionally grounded process of building capacity one cycle at a time.
