Risk solutions at Trans Asia
The Trans Asia Hotel completed its Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning - DR and BCP - initiative recently. It was jointly executed by Nexus Business Solutions and Strategic Risk Solutions on behalf of Trans Asia Hotel.

ISMM represented at Bangkok workshops
The International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva recently conducted a Regional Training Workshop for 36 Trainers from Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and South Africa in Bangkok with the objective of developing closer links among network members across Asia.

The Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM), Sri Lanka was represented by two Council Members, Priyangani Jayasundara and I.G.Perera. They also participated in ITC’s Modular Learning System (MLS) International Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (IPSCM) Regional Networking Meeting Asia 2008, the ISMM said.

The International Trade Centre, Geneva also conducted a Training of Trainers Workshop in Colombo on September 30. The workshop was conducted by Margareta Funder, Officer, Learning Systems and Manager MLS – IPSCM Programme of ITC Geneva.

MAS rewards schools for sustainable development projects
MAS Holdings recently felicitated the ECO Go beyond Schools Sustainability Awards at the MAS Institute of Management Technology, Thulhiriya. Schools were recognized and rewarded for their outstanding contribution towards developing a sustainable future, the company said.

The Schools Sustainable Development Education Project is a flagship initiative of a MAS programme which is aimed at introducing the concept of Sustainable Development and creating understanding of its applicability to youth as tomorrow’s leaders, the company said.

Norwegian Ambassador Tore Hattrem and French Ambassador Michel Lummaux were the Guests of Honour with Joel Bacha from UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok also being present. The audience comprised additional secretaries from the Ministry of Education, 29 school principles, 29 teachers and 280 students.

Pallekanugala Maha Vidyalaya, Walagedara Maha Vidyalaya, St. Mary's (Tamil) Maha Vidyalaya Yatiyantota and Ms. Achini Pearl Ratnayake of Pallekanugala Maha Vidyalaya won the 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and the Most Committed Teacher winners, respectively.

New entrants to Certified Professional Manager Status
A total of 801 members comprising 157 Fellows, 274 Members and 370 Associates were the first group ever to be awarded the status of Certified Professional Manager (CPM) at the launch of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers (ICPM). This was anounced by ICPM President Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, at a ceremony held recently in Colombo which heralded the official launch of ICPM, Sri Lanka’s latest professional body.

Created as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the All India Management Association (AIMA) and the Society of Certified Management Accountants (CMA), ICPM was conceptualized as a separate professional management body from the CMA to conduct management courses. The institute will be conducting a 2-year management programme in Sri Lanka, which is now open. Open to school leavers, the course offers an affordable recourse to existing management programs with admission intakes every October and April for either a Diploma or an Advanced Diploma in Management. (JH)

ICTA signs MoU with Virtusa for country portal
The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), has signed a MoU to develop a ‘Country Portal’ that is expected to provide information on all government services, at a single, online location. The Virtusa Corporation is partnering ICTA to develop the portal, the ICTA said in a press release.

“I am glad that today, after much ‘behind- the- scene’ work, ICTA is able to witness the signing of the Country Portal project, thanks to which, citizens, non-citizens, businesses, agents and government employees to various government organizations and businesses in Sri Lanka, will be able to access and obtain information and integrated government services, online, from a single portal, in a highly user-friendly manner, wherever they may happen to be,” said ICTA’s COO/Director, Reshan Dewapura, after the signing ceremony on October 10.

“We take great pride in joining hands with ICTA in creating the Country Portal featuring multiple service delivery channels to accommodate various end-user realities, such as mobile devices and web browsers,” said the General Manager of Virtusa’s Sri Lanka Advanced Training Centre, Madu Ratnayake.
The Country Portal project is one of the four major projects under ICTA’s Lanka Gate Programme, which comes within ICTA’s e-Sri Lanka initiative. The main thrust of the endeavour is to make services easily and speedily available, with least cost, to all stakeholders.

Parliament recently approved the Information and Communication Technology (Amendment ) Bill which extended ICTA’s original five year life span into an open-ended on-going one. (DS)

Softwave upgrades its technology
Softwave, a printing and production house specializing in total printing solutions, upgraded its printing technology recently by setting up the ultra-sophisticated Canon Production Copier, IR 5075.

“We decided to invest in a state of the art Canon IR 5075 Production Copier after a detailed study and analysis of all the brands of copiers available in the market,” Chaminda Kariyawasam, Managing Director of the Softwave, said in a press release.

The Canon IR 5075 Production Copier can produce 75 monochrome copies per minute. Its unique benefits include distinctly clear presentation, state of the art security features, email facilities and conversion of scanned documents to soft copies for easy storage and retrieval. These features make the Canon IR 5075 a true production workhorse.

Softwave is known for its high quality service and enjoys a leading competitive edge in the printing production industry in Sri Lanka, the press release said.