MANILA, Philippines?Continuing the collaboration among development and business enterprises, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) recently welcomed 43 new students into its Master in Development Management (MDM) program.

Hailing from 15 different countries all over Asia, the 21st MDM batch was formally introduced last Oct. 23 at a cocktail reception party held in AIM, Paseo de Roxas, Makati.

?[The MDM] is really the program that is the character of AIM,? said Center for Development Management (CDM) Associate Dean Juan Miguel Luz, referring to the program?s cultural and sectoral diversity.

In this new batch are medical doctors, accountants, retail bankers, businessmen, policemen, military and other government officials, all eager for a new perspective on how to bring about sustainable development.

The program, which started last September, is an intensive 11-month course that will prepare development executives and practitioners to manage and lead their respective organizations, whether private, government or civil society-oriented.

?The program?s been seven weeks already, and it?s just amazing. It?s so multidimensional,? said Joseph Batac, one of this year?s students, a consultant for different multinational organizations. ?You get to read a lot about things that before were alien to you, or different to how you understood it before.?

?I asked if I was too old for this, but it was no problem,? Batac said. ?There are still a lot of challenges out there, and here we learn how to deal with those challenges.? MDM is Batac?s first take on a Master?s course.

The Department of Health?s delegate, Dr. Benjamin Reyes, is on his second Master?s course. His first was on Public Health from the University of the Philippines.

?But this is totally different from what I know,? Reyes said. ?It focuses more on development programs-how you incorporate public health, social values into your programs.?

?I think that the department needs to be here, and I think next year we should send more,? he added. Reyes, who was recommended by Health Undersecretary Alex Padilla, is MDM?s first student from DOH.

Ultimately, Luz considers the MDM a key to solving the challenges brought about by 21st century globalization.

?Asian countries must bridge the societal divide between the rich and the poor, meet the basic demands of society, and ensure environmental conservation,? he said.