|
Education
International research conference on biz management held
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
Managing organisations in a manner which is more effective, efficient
and productive is an essential ingredient for making the best use of
scarcely available economic resources and achieving excellence in that
context will ensure resources are used in the optimal way.
Acting Dean Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of
Moratuwa, Dr. S.W Hirantha said. He was addressing the inaugural session
of the fifth International Research Conference on Business Management
held on March 27 at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura on the theme
of "Achieving Excellence in Organisational Management for Sustainable
Development".
He said that the highest level of achievement through better
management practices at the same time preserving environment and leaving
economic resources for future generations will boost sustainable
economic development and hold out economic prosperity for everyone.
He pointed out that this has become more relevant and appropriate
today as the disparity in the distribution of economic benefits has
created chaos and threatened the very existence of the society and
proved detrimental to economic development, peace and social harmony.
Dr. Hirantha said this kind of annual research conference provides an
excellent opportunity for academic interactions in both theoretical and
empirical research and also triggers serious deliberations among
scholars in an effort to enhance the final outlook and outcome of their
work that is being presented.
The ICBM Conference was organised under ten tracks including
accounting and Finance ,Human Resource Management, Information Systems
Management, etc and had research papers presented by eminent and leading
scholars in the South Asian region.
Chairman Pearl Academic Council of the Pearl Business School in India
Professor I.M. Pandey delivered the keynote address.
|
New plans
|
Nations Trust Bank announced the extended settlement plan for three
major professional international examinations, CIM, CIMA and ACCA.
Through this programme, Card members may opt for interest free
monthly instalment based payments for above courses of study. The
extended settlement plan (ESP) is applicable not only for the
examination fee but also includes the membership fee, the registration
as well as the annual fee.
Commenting on this, Renuka Fernando, Deputy General Manager Retail
Banking at Nations Trust Bank PLC said, "We are indeed pleased to offer
this value added benefit for the convenience of our Card members
particularly in the field of Marketing and Accounting.
Colombo Plan scholarships for Post-Graduates
The Colombo Plan's hallmark activity is the provision of scholarships
for its member countries in fulfilment of its objective of human
resource development.
The Long-Term Scholarship Programme was revived in 2005 to provide
opportunities for suitable candidates to pursue post-graduate studies in
prestigious universities in Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.
The Scholarships are intended for middle to senior public sector
officials who can make a significant contribution to their countries
upon their return. Since 2005, a total of 54 Colombo Plan Scholarships
have been awarded in the 3 host countries. Currently, about 30 LTSP
awards a year are offered by the Colombo Plan to member countries.
The KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, Korea came to
an agreement with the Colombo Plan Secretariat in 2005 to provide
opportunities for the public sector officials with sufficient experience
in public administration system to pursue for Master Degrees.
Under this collaboration, 7 scholarships are offered annually to
follow the Master of Public Policy programme at the KDI School of Public
Policy and Management. Duration of the programme is one-year.
Scholarships will be offered to suitable candidates under the Colombo
Plan - Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) collaboration.
Under this scholarship programme, the Colombo Plan provides
opportunities for the public sector officials of its member countries to
follow Master Degree programmes according to their interests from seven
National Universities of excellence in Malaysia.
The Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) of Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia collaborated with the Colombo Plan to provide 10
scholarships annually to study for one-year Master Degree in Strategy
and Diplomacy.
Under the Colombo Plan - Universiti Sains Malaysia Long-Term
Scholarship programme, 10 scholarships will be provided for suitable
candidates to follow Master of Social Science degrees at the Universiti
Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
Students can specialise in the areas of Anthropology and Sociology,
Economic Management, Development Planning and Management, Political
Science/Public Administration, Social Work, Peace Studies, Islamic
Development and Management and AIDS.
To be considered for a Colombo Plan Scholarship, candidates should
fulfil the following requirements.
* Nominated by their respective Governments to the Colombo Plan
* At least five years experience in the area of specialisation
* Be in good physical and mental health to follow a long term
programme in a foreign country The scholarship awards will cover the
following:
* A return air ticket on economy class from the closest international
airport to the University or Institute
More details about the scholarships including, programme content,
application procedure, scholarship offer and application deadline will
be announced on the Colombo Plan website.
Strengthening engineering education at Moratuwa Uni.
Ramani Kangararachchi
The Engineering Faculty of UOM has employed several mechanisms
related to University - Industry Linkages, the Dean of the Faculty of
Engineering of the University of Moratuwa (UOM), Prof. Ananda
Jayawardane said. He pointed out that this is necessary as the
engineering faculties of universities world over have been effectively
involved in "University - Industry Cooperation" for achieving both
educational and national economic goals.
These mechanisms are undergraduate projects with some industry
component, consultancy tasks by the faculty members at the request of
industry, other outreach activities such as seminars, workshops, testing
etc., Engineering Design Centre (EDC) of the Faculty of Engineering and
the University Industry Interaction Cell (UIIC) both established under
Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance.
However, it is also observed that the output of these mechanisms are
still far from expected levels due to many challenges and issues faced
by the engineering education system.
Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, UOM, believes that the initiation
of the Development Project between International Cooperation Centre for
Engineering Education Development (ICCEED) of Toyohashi University of
Technology (TUT), Japan and the Faculty of Engineering, UOM, would
facilitate the University - Industry Cooperation more effectively. The
TUT is located near Tokai area in Japan where a variety of automobile
industries are established. TUT has good experience of joint research
activities with these industries.
According to Prof Jayawardane by implementing this project, the
Faculty of Engineering, UOM expects to achieve:
Capacity building for strengthening University - Industry Cooperation
Development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism for University
Industry Linkage including intellectual property and technology
management aspects.
Development of a sustainable mechanism for generation and management
of research funds.
In the process of launching of this project, the ICCEED has initially
conducted preliminary needs assessment survey of industry in Sri Lanka
keeping in line with priorities and policies of the Ministry of
Industrial Development and the impact potentials.
Accordingly five thrust areas for university - industry linkage
activities have been identified. These are Electronic parts
manufacturing, Ceramics, Textiles and Apparel, Die and Moulds, Tea,
Rubber and Food.
As a first stage of the project, a seminar on Intellectual Property
Rights in the context of University - Industry Linkages was held at
University of Moratuwa in November 2007. |
