Oxford College of Business (OCB) MBA Alumni prides itself in offering "lifelong learning". This was certainly the case for over 200 alumni members who took part in a panel discussion chaired by 4 of Sri Lanka's top corporate leaders. The event took place on the 2nd of May at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, where most people rated the panel discussion as a very rare opportunity to listen to 4 of the top CEO's in the country today. It was arguably one of the best panel discussions organized in the recent past.

The panel consisted of Mr. Ranjith Page (Chairman/Managing Director Cargills Group) Mr. Patric Petch (CEO Coca Cola Sri Lanka), Thayalan Bartlett (CEO of JWT) and Mr. Reyaz Jeffry (CEO Amana Takaful)
The theme of the event was "Networking in the corporate world". Mr. Ranjith Page set the stage for the event in which he shared the extent to which networking has been useful in his line of business mainly in the area of supply chain. All 4 panelists' shared different views of corporate networking with each panelist giving examples from their industry of work which added a lot of glamour to this very rare and interesting discussion. The objective was to help participants understand and build on these trends to make a difference both personally and professionally.

The event was also highlighted with the launch of the OCB-AIBA-MBA Alumni logo, and publication of the Alumni constitution. Unlike any other traditional alumni, the OCB-AIBA Alumni has clearly taken the meaning of being a member of an alumnus to the next level. The alumni had tied up with a large number of merchants to give various discounts and other benefits available exclusive to those OCB-AIBA MBA Alumni members. Some of the merchants include: Dialog, Foot Rub & Amana Takaful. "The objective of this move is to give more meaning and importance to what you belong to" Mr. Nirosh Perera the assistant general secretary of the alumni also stated "being a member of an alumni need to benefit each and every one of our members, and we feel the tie-up with many different merchants gives all our members more pride and reason of being a part of an elite MBA Alumni like no other in the country." The Vice President of the AIBA MBA Alumni Mr. Shawn Admas stated that "Networking receptions like this is essential to the life of MBA students. It is vital that such events are to be seriously taken advantage by them.

The MBA office together with OCB will continue to support this endeavor as more similar events will be planned out, not only to the benefit of the current students, but to the alumni to reconnect, break barriers and forge new friendships. Further members of the OCB AIBA MBA Alumni consist of top corporate from all sectors of the economy which is one of the main reasons why our alumni is one of the most popular and most active MBA alumni associations in the country today."

In addition, the event offered a plethora of networking opportunities so that participants could meet each other and share ideas and information which was followed by wine and dinner. "For me, the highlight was getting to know Mr. Thayalan Bartlett (CEO of JWT) and hear his views on corporate networking and its relevance in the field of advertising" Mr. Thasleen Ammon- Senior Sales manager Corporate accounts- Amana Takaful.

"It was a great event to meet both past and present students and to hear their views on the importance of pursuing further educational goals, which was very encouraging for me. In my view, it also helped create many new corporate networking opportunities." Mr. Murray Fernandesz, Assistant Vice President, Treasury, National Development Bank Plc.

"The event itself recreated the perception one had of an MBA qualification moving it to yet another level, enabling all those who attended not only the opportunity to network and interact with each other but also to take pride in belonging to such a prestigious fraternity". Mr. Niranjan Tavarayen - Senior Vice President, WNS Sri Lanka.

The main sponsor of the event was HP, with HSBC being the exclusive banking sponsor and Dialog being co-sponsors of the event.

OCB -AIBA-MBA the most popular MBA in Sri Lanka
The fact that the Australian Institute of Business Administration (AIBA) MBA offered by Oxford College of Business is approved by University Grants Commission (UGC) in Sri Lanka and is the most popular MBA programme in the country today. The AIBA-MBA have been rated among the best in the world which is the main reason why the MBA programme offered by AIBA is popular with students worldwide The Australian Institute of Business Administration (AIBA) MBA is a four star Post graduate degree and recognized by authorities both locally and internationally:

"UGC (University Grants Commission)- National accreditation body
"IAU (International Association of Universities) -Worldwide accreditation body
"AQF (Australian Qualification Framework) - Australian accreditation body
"CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) - Commonwealth/EU accreditation body This is an honour shared by only a few of the world's elite business schools around the world.
For more information contact Malindu Ranasinghe - 0714151547 or visit www.12monthmba.com.au