Most people spend years climbing one career ladder in one country. Dr. Joefrelin Collado Ines has climbed several — across four continents, in fields ranging from business strategy to graduate education — and he is not done yet. At 58, he holds more titles than most professionals accumulate in a lifetime. But ask him what drives it all, and he will point you back to a small town in Pampanga.
A career built on starting from scratch
Ines did not ease into international work. His first posting abroad, in 2005, took him to Ethiopia — not exactly a conventional first step for a Filipino academic. There, he served as Associate Professor at Adama Science and Technology University while simultaneously taking on a corporate role as Chief Strategy Officer for Degolo Commercial PLC, where he helped generate $20 million in initial export sales. It was a trial by fire, and he welcomed it.
“I chose to pursue employment outside the Philippines to embrace a ‘Zero-to-One’ leadership challenge — building new programs and systems from the ground up in diverse cultural and economic landscapes,” he said.
The pattern held. A stint in California followed, where he worked as an Assistant Facility Administrator, significantly increasing the facility’s annual income while maintaining full occupancy. Each posting was different. Each demanded that he rebuild his footing from the ground up. That, it turns out, was precisely the point.
Today, Ines serves as Head of the Department of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) in Shinas, Oman — a role that also makes him the founding architect and lead implementor of two graduate programs: the MBA in Leadership and Innovation and the MSc in Customs and Taxation. He manages a faculty of 32 and sits on the University Branch Council. His department has received the Ejada Excellence Award twice — in 2023 and 2025 — from the Omani Ministry of Labour, an award that covers more than 150,000 civil servants across government entities.
“The most satisfying aspect is seeing my department recognized for excellence,” he said. “I am passionate about how innovation can serve as a bridge between dreams and excellence.”
Beyond the classroom
The work does not stop at the university gates. As Chairman of the Filipino Community Social Club, known as Kampion, in Sohar, Oman, Ines has spent years organizing free skills training, social events, and community programs for Filipinos in the region. When the pandemic hit, he mobilized food relief and support that reached more than 800 beneficiaries.
In 2018, that community work earned him recognition as the Outstanding Overseas Filipino Worker in Oman. In 2021, he was nominated for the Bagong Bayani award — the national honor given to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves through service abroad. These are not footnotes in his career. They are, by his own account, among its most meaningful chapters.
His life outside work is also shaped by the people closest to him. He speaks warmly of his wife, Lou, whom he calls his soulmate and his most enduring source of support through every relocation, every new challenge, every moment of uncertainty.
Thinking globally, coming home
On April 30, 2026, Ines received the Most Outstanding Magaleño Award in Education from his hometown of Magalang — a recognition given to locals who have carried their roots with them into the world and brought honor back. For a man who has evaluated more than 13,000 university submissions as an Official Global Evaluator for the 2026 World University Rankings for Innovation, the hometown award carried a different kind of weight.
He already knows what comes next. Once his tenure in Oman concludes, he plans to return to the Philippines and focus on educational innovation and capacity building for small and medium enterprises. He hopes to continue as a visiting faculty member at Pampanga State Agricultural University, passing on to the next generation what two decades abroad have taught him.
His advice to fellow Filipinos working overseas is direct: “Build bridges, not pedestals.” On finances, he urges discipline and literacy. On relationships, he emphasizes trust and empathy. On career, he is unequivocal — “Never stop learning. Break mental barriers regarding your potential and let innovation turn your dreams into excellence.”
The mantra he lives by is longer, but the core of it is simple: think globally, love locally. For Joefrelin Ines, those two things have never been in conflict. They have always been the same mission, carried out from different corners of the world.
