89 UPLB scholars get lifeline as Jonathan Sterling signs ₱36-M fund

MANILA, Philippines — For many students at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), the obstacle to a degree is rarely tuition. It is the cost of simply getting through the semester — rent, food, books, the everyday expenses that free tuition was never meant to cover.

Last Sept. 3, British tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Jonathan M. Sterling signed a deed of donation with UPLB, which establishes the Jonathan M. Sterling Scholarship Fund, a ₱36-million commitment that will provide financial assistance to 89 top-performing undergraduate students from their first year through graduation.

The ceremony at the Executive Conference Room of the Office of the Chancellor was led by UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janette H. Malata-Silva, PhD, together with Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Agham Cuevas, Director of Scholarships and Grants Ariel Babierra, and Scholarships Affairs Officer Ivy Selarde.

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What the scholarship fund covers

Running from Academic Year 2026-2027 to Academic Year 2029-2030, the fund will cover the scholars’ monthly living expenses, a book allowance, a one-time gadget provision, and a student development allowance to help them attend seminars, conferences, and other academic or career-related events.

“The significance of the amount of 36 million — you can just imagine the big amount that will be given to each and every student to support their studies,” Camacho said. “This is not just significant, but it will have a great impact and will make a great difference in the lives of the recipient students in the various academic programs, undergraduate academic programs of UPLB.”

Camacho noted that UPLB admits students from the lowest income decile bracket in the whole UP system.

“Yes, there’s free higher education in the Philippines, but that only accounts for the free tuition. The greater 60 to 70 percent is about funding the daily subsistence of the students,” he said. “Surely this is an investment in human capital, in developing the capacities and the fullest potentials of the recipient students.”

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Why UPLB: ‘So many other places sometimes get forgotten’

Sterling — the founder and chief executive officer of customer service software company Pleased.com, which opened its Philippine headquarters in Bonifacio Global City days after the signing — told the university officials that the choice of campus was deliberate.

“One of the reasons that I’m really happy to donate to UPLB in particular is I think a lot of the funding, a lot of the grants, a lot of the donations are focused on Metro Manila,” he said. “There’s so many other places in the Philippines [that] sometimes get forgotten about.”

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Partnering with established universities, he added, gives a donor confidence that the money goes where it should. “Somebody can come in, not even from the Philippines, and go: you’re a reputable institution, I can contribute towards that.”

The UPLB fund extends Sterling’s scholarship program that also supports students at Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of the Philippines Diliman

A tree named for a donor

To mark the partnership, UPLB — known for its work in plant breeding — will name a tree after Sterling on campus.

“And I hope this is symbolic, this symbol of our appreciation, in that as the trees grow, this means that the impact to students’ lives also grow in terms of the life that you change,” Camacho said. “I believe this is a symbol of what you have done to the many lives of our students.”

The gesture caught the donor off guard.

“Nobody’s ever named a tree after me. It’s very unexpected,” Sterling said. “But, you know, thank you. I appreciate it. Of course, it’s a big honor.”

READ: Jonathan Sterling expands business portfolio

‘A safety net’ as state universities face budget cuts

For Malata-Silva, the university’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the fund answers a need that goes beyond the classroom.

“Most students come to the campus with problems in terms of where to get the next meal, what to do if they have things to pay,” she said. “This scholarship grant is very, very instrumental in ensuring that their well-being is also looked after… It’s really providing a safety net for them and a means to show them that they are valued in the community.”

She said the partnership comes at a critical time for state universities.

“We know that UP and the other state universities and colleges are facing a very high budget cut for 2027,” Malata-Silva said. “It’s very important that we partner with private institutions so that the goal of the university in terms of providing meaningful education to the future leaders of a country is realized.”

Malata-Silva added that the university hopes to expand its collaboration with Sterling beyond the scholarship, including a possible partnership on student dormitories, and looks forward to introducing him to the 89 scholars who will benefit from the fund. Sterling met the scholars of his Diliman fund on September 7.

“My hopes for UPLB students is that they gain not only financial assistance from this initiative, but as they grow old, they should be able to pay forward the kindness that Mr. Sterling has bestowed upon them,” she said, “and that they serve the people, serve the country, and be productive members of our country and of our community.”

Sterling, for his part, is content to watch the fund work from a distance.

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“I’m looking forward to seeing what comes from it,” he said, “not just in the next four years, but the next 40 years.”