EDEX 2008: From higher education to career prospects

This month, school-leavers will be able to realise the full range of their education career options from a vast array of commendable sources at the EDEX 2008 National Higher Education and Careers Expo, an annual event organized by the Royal College Union

Distinguishing itself from the many education fairs that mushroom around the city, EDEX will not only feature information on universities but also vocations, IT and career opportunities. EDEX is also the only twin mega exhibition to be held in both Colombo and Kandy. The main event in Colombo will be held at the Sirimavo Bandaranike International Exhibition Centre, BMICH on January 18 to 20. The Kandy leg of the fair will be held at the Queen’s Hotel Kandy on January 22-23.

This 5th EDEX aspires to be bigger and better than its predecessors. Operations will be carried across three main pavilions; Domestic Education, International Education, and Careers/ Recruitment. The education fair will feature over 350 universities and higher educational institutes from over 16 countries including United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Japan, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal, Switzerland, Cyprus, France, New Zealand, Malaysia and the UAE.

Along with information on the courses available, students will also be briefed on the requirements for full and partial scholarships awarded by them. ‘On site’ spot admission into the universities will be carried out as well.

As an extra incentive, a number of foreign missions are scheduled to be present to furnish parents with the necessary details on student visas and other information about the countries.

On the careers and recruitment front, students will be able to participate in walk-in interviews conducted by various private sector firms, for job recruitment. This venture is being supported by many strategic partners including the Ceylon Chambers of Commerce (CCC). Speaking at the media briefing, Secretary General of the CCC Prema Cooray said that from a corporate point of view, the CCC will be present to give career guidance to those students who have not passed their basic examination. The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) has also pledged their support as strategic partners.

Although they deal mainly with trade, AMCHAM stresses on the importance of education as a requirement for the forming of the perfect corporate citizen. An additional aspect designed to make the whole exhibition experience more interesting will be the theme attraction, the “Digital Lifestyle Dome” by Sri Lanka Telecom PLC. The dome will feature Internet-related changes that life will go through in the future. This will only be displayed at the main even in Colombo.

EDEX 2007 saw a participation of almost 75,000 students and others, and EDEX EXPO Project Chairman Kamal Abeysinghe hopes to see an increase to 100,000 this year.

This time round EDEX will be conducting a systematic survey to determine the real numbers of the students who benefit directly from the exhibition.