EDUCATION

British Council helps Lankan students going to the UK

Nilma DOLE

The British Council organised their annual Pre-Departure Event 2008 recently. Aimed at assisting international students hoping to study in the UK, it enlightened them on aspects pertaining to departure arrangement, legal matters, familiarisation tours, accommodation, financial budgeting, settling down and insurance as well as guidance on academic and social life.

Several Sri Lankan students currently studying and working in the UK in addition to Sri Lankans who have graduated this year from UK institutions gave presentations, shared their experiences and did skits to make it easier for potential students to understand vital elements to education and life in the UK.

Information on how to apply for a student visa was given by visa officers Chris Perry and Lai-Ming Siu of the British High Commission in Chennai.

They said that from July 2008, they have been processing visa applications from Sri Lanka through VFS Colombo (UK Visa Application Centre) as part of the UK’s Border Agency programme. Says Chris Perry “We advise applicants to fill the form clearly and precisely to the best of their knowledge attaching all relevant documents and to give the process from four to six weeks before traveling”.

The procedure is that original applications with documents are kept in the British High Commission in Colombo and photocopied ones are couriered to their Chennai branch.

Lai-Ming said “Since this is the first time that we’re doing it like this, we realise that there are shortcomings so we are upgrading our IT infrastructure in order to be efficient and effective”.

Most importantly, if the application is supported with fraudulent documents, a severe penalty of banning the applicant for 10 years on applying for a UK visa was emphasised.

British students from Durham University (UK) - Charities Committee (DUCK) also conducted presentations on what to expect when studying and living in the UK.

Sponsors of this event, Emirates Airlines offered special student fares with additional baggage allowance for potential UK students and Hemas Travels (Pvt) Ltd also came forward to help students in travel arrangements in Sri Lanka and the UK.

The benefit of the ISIC (International Student Identity Card) discount card for international students on essentials and entertainment offered by GoHolidays (Pvt) Ltd was emphasised as well.

A pre-departure pack with necessary information on academic and social life in the UK was given to every participant.

Volunteers from Leeds Metropolitan University visit Sri Lanka

As a part of the international volunteering programme of the Leeds Metropolitan University, a group of British students together with a faculty member and their Sri Lanka programme coordinator spent two weeks in Sri Lanka volunteering their time, energy and resources to help the less fortunate.

The programme and logistics in Sri Lanka was organised and coordinated by the Leo Club of Colombo Millennium (Leo District 306A1) and was initiated and coordinated in the UK by Sri Lankan student (Leo) Prasad Liyanaarachchi. The group was met at the airport by DVP Leo Leon Aponsu who was the project coordinator from the Leo Club of Colombo Millennium along with DP Leo Asitha and MP Leo Ricky Leos.

The volunteers together with the Leos of Colombo Millennium and other Leos of District 306A1 carried out projects at the Mother Theresa Home, Camilla School for the Mentally Challenged, Lankadara Home and they also conducted a Health Camp in Matale for over 300 people. It is noteworthy that money to fund the programme was all collected by the Volunteers by organising various fundraisers both on and off campus.

The two weeks spent together was the ideal opportunity for the volunteers from the UK and the Leos from Sri Lanka forge bonds of friendship which would transcend cultural and geographical barriers.

Chartered Management Accountants deliberate on Islamic finance and banking

The growing demand internationally for Islamic finance has prompted CIMA to be the first professional accountancy body globally to offer a ‘Certificate in Islamic Finance’ that covers Islamic commercial law, Islamic banking and Takaful, Islamic capital markets and instruments and Accounting for Islamic financial institutions.

Managing Director/CEO of Amana Investments Ltd, Faizal Salieh spoke to a cross section of members and passed finalists of the Chartered Management Accountants body (CIMA) on “Islamic finance and banking: The first principles” at a programme organised by the Management Information and Resource Centre of the CIMA Sri Lanka Division.

Salieh who counts over 30 years of banking experience including conventional commercial banking, development banking and Islamic financial services elaborated on the principles of the Sharia law and explained how Islamic banking and financial services have developed in keeping with these principles.

He also spoke on the Islamic financial products and introduced several key technical terms used in the industry. Salieh’s presentation was followed by a lively discussion by the audience.

Islamic Banking has a 40 year history since its origination as an organised practice in the ‘60s. Today it is the fastest growing segment in the global financial industry evoking encouraging responses from a wide cross section of customers, markets, conventional banks, regulators and policy makers across the world. It is no longer confined to the traditional boundaries of Islamic nations and is spreading in European countries including the UK.

The Certificate in Islamic Finance from CIMA is the first truly global qualification of its kind to be offered by a professional accountancy body in collaboration with the International Institute of Islamic Finance (IIIF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - a leading provider of Islamic educational products.

Details of this programme could obtained from the CIMA Sri Lanka Division by accessing the dedicated site www.cimaglobal.com/islamicfinance.

Kelani Saviya third intake at University of Peradeniya

A corporate social responsibility project launched under the agreement signed by Kelani Cables PLC and the Engineering Faculty, university of Peradeniya in 2006, paving the way to skills development of youth in Sri Lanka passed another milestone with the third intake of Kelani Saviya programme recently.

Twenty School leavers and thirty self-employed electricians from various parts of the island were selected to follow Kelani Saviya Programme in the 3rd intake.

Kelani Saviya Programme, a concept by Prof. Janaka Ekanayake, Prof. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering University of Peradeniya, is a programme consisting of three levels including 14 modules, including domestic and industrial wiring and application of digital electronic engineering techniques.

Kelani Cables PLC will bear the total cost of the programme while the university of Peradeniya, will totally undertake the skills development role of the programme.

The Kelani Saviya agreement was signed by the Dean, Faculty of Engineering Prof. S.B.S. Abeykoon and Managing Director Kelani Cables Hemantha Perera.

Prof. Janaka Ekanayake and Dr. Chandima Ekanayake were appointed as Course Directors of the programme, Jayantha Wijesinghe is taking the role of programme co-ordinator of the Kelani Saviya.

Dilini Silva wins Sri Lanka Prize for CIM (UK)

Dilini Silva who completed her post graduate diploma in marketing CIM (UK) was adjudged Sri Lanka’s Best Student in “Strategic Marketing in Practice” at the examination held in June 2007.

Silva holds a B.Sc (honours) degree in IT from Metropolitan University of London and a MBA from the University of Wales. Her MBA dissertation was based on multinational corporations.

She’s a member of Rotary International. Presently, she is at the Monash University in Australia following her post graduate studies in International Relations, leading to her Doctorate (PhD).