As artificial intelligence reshapes jobs and the skills demanded by employers, more working professionals in Cebu are choosing to spend their own money on graduate business education, viewing advanced learning as an investment in staying relevant rather than simply earning another credential.
Shannen Tan, campus head of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business (AGSB) Cebu, said the school has seen growing interest among professionals who personally finance their MBA studies, reflecting a stronger willingness among workers to invest in their own skills and career development.
‘Majority really self-fund,’ Tan said, noting that while some students are sponsored by their companies, a growing number are paying for their own graduate education.
She said professionals increasingly recognize the need to remain relevant as artificial intelligence changes the nature of work, making skills such as critical thinking, adaptability, and leadership increasingly important.
‘I think the ability to have that critical thinking skill will really set you apart,’ Tan said.
Rather than positioning the MBA simply as a qualification to be used after graduation, AGSB emphasizes the immediate application of classroom learning to workplace challenges.
Tan said the school’s approach is highly practice-oriented, with students encouraged to identify problems in their own organizations and apply management tools and concepts to address them.
‘It’s really an investment in themselves,’ she said, adding that students can see the value of the program on an ongoing basis through its application in their workplaces.
The shift comes as professionals also seek ways to pursue further education without putting their careers on hold.
AGSB Cebu, which resumed onsite operations in October 2025 after shifting primarily to online instruction during the pandemic, currently offers a hybrid learning arrangement.
Around half of the classes are conducted onsite while the rest are delivered online, allowing students to maintain professional commitments while pursuing graduate studies.
The Cebu campus offers a Standard MBA program for early-career professionals and the Regis MBA, an accelerated executive program offered through AGSB’s partnership with Regis University in Colorado. The hybrid setup also allows the Cebu campus to connect with students and faculty from AGSB’s other locations, including Iloilo, Santa Rosa, and Clark.
While most Cebu enrollees are from the province, Tan said the campus also attracts professionals from neighboring areas.
For AGSB, the return to on-site learning reflects the continuing value of face-to-face interaction even as digital education becomes more prevalent.
Tan said the school saw the need to restore physical classes because of the level of interaction and networking that take place when students and faculty meet in person.
At the same time, the hybrid format gives working professionals greater flexibility, particularly those who cannot afford to leave their jobs to pursue a full-time graduate program.
The trend also highlights a broader shift in how professionals view continuing education amid technological disruption.
For Tan, graduate business education is not only about technical management knowledge.
AGSB also emphasizes leadership and ethics based on the Jesuit and Ignatian tradition, with students encouraged to develop self-awareness alongside business and management skills.
‘It’s really not just about the technical know-how, but really more about being a better person yourself,’ she said.
AGSB’s experience in Cebu suggests that as AI takes over or transforms portions of traditionally human-driven work, professionals may increasingly turn to higher-order skills-critical thinking, leadership, judgment and adaptability-to remain competitive in a changing labor market.
The Cebu campus has also used free MBA trial classes to allow prospective students to experience its teaching approach before committing to the program.
A recent session, themed ‘Leading Through Chaos: With and For Others,’ brought together professionals for discussions on leadership amid uncertainty and disruption.
For professionals navigating an increasingly automated workplace, the value of graduate education may therefore be shifting-from a credential earned at a particular point in a career to a continuing investment in the ability to adapt, lead and make decisions in a rapidly changing economy.