EDC president and CEO Jerome Cainglet (3rd from right) and AIM president and dean Dr. Jikyeong Kang (4th from right) with (r-l) EDC chief financial officer Erwin Avante, EDC chief transformation officer Joy Santamarina, AIM academic program director for MIB Prof. Rafael Camus and AIM-SRF executive managing director for finance and treasury Bryan Gerard CabreraThe Asian Institute of Management (AIM) has received a P10-million donation from Energy Development Corporation (EDC) for the development and naming of its innovation laboratory.

The memorandum of agreement (MOA) signing at the AIM main campus in Makati marks a new chapter in the decades-old relationship between the Lopez Group and AIM. This joint endeavor will serve as a catalyst for advancing AIM’s mission of driving innovation in business, technology and management across Asia.

AIM president and dean Dr. Jikyeong Kang conveyed her gratitude to the Lopez Group for its support for AIM and its programs. She underscored the crucial role of the Lopez Group’s generous contributions throughout AIM’s history and emphasized AIM’s commitment to pioneering “new ways of thinking” that are fundamental to innovation; this new collaboration further deepens the ties between the Lopez Group and AIM.

Kang also shared her joy at seeing AIM alumni from EDC attend the ceremony as partners in innovation.

Jerome Cainglet, president and chief operating officer of EDC and MBA 2006, reminisced about his time as an AIM student, expressing nostalgia for the institute that shaped his career. He articulated EDC’s aspiration to “forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future,” stating that the First Gen-EDC Innovation Lab is strongly aligned with this mission.

The First Gen-EDC Innovation Lab is the institute’s newest research hub located in the AIM main campus. Envisioned to be a venue to facilitate groundbreaking research into innovative technologies, the state-of-the-art lab will house experimental facilities such as a 3D printing space and an AR/VR testing center for the development of new products, services and businesses.