IIT student excel in being the youngest project manager at Camoplast Solideal
View(s):At 25 Chinthaka Palliyahguru is the youngest Project Manager at the leading solid tire and tracks manufacturer in the world under the Camoplast Solideal brand.
Having achieved this feat within a few years, Chinthaka today is heading projects in SAP ERP and strategic application roll outs in the company bringing to fore, IT compliance initiatives while evaluating vendor solutions and applications. He is also responsible for managing multicultural teams globally which includes North America, Europe and Asia. Furthermore he is the Associate lead of the Change Advisory Board (CAB) for Asia. He also holds the responsibility of continuous improvement in Sri Lankan IT operations. 
Sharing his views on his success thus far, Chinthaka noted that his job requires him to have an in-depth knowledge and understanding into IT as well as business. These criteria’s he has successfully absorbed during his studies at IIT, from where he holds a degree on Information Systems with Business Management from University of Westminster (UOW) UK.
He further explained that “However, this is not the only tool that must be possessed to be an effective Project Manager. We are a project based organization, so we need to be versed in a wide variety of areas including finance, communication, and effective people skills. Keeping a project on-time and under budget while maintaining high quality and customer satisfaction is essential to the success of a Project Manager as well as managing and leading teams and dealing with international users of the systems which IIT leanings were definitely a benefit.
“It’s crucial to be confident and know what you are talking about. If a customer asks a question, you should have an answer on the spot. They’ll learn to trust you more if you can do that.Under my role as Continuous Improvement Manager I also handle identifying, designing and executing back-up plans for critical processes and resources, and is responsible for activity justification, post auditing, tracking and base lining, planning, developing, training and conducting training sessions for IT staff and management on a continuous basis,” Chinthaka said.
Acknowledging the benefits of the learning he received at IIT for such functions, Chinthaka affirmed that the knowledge gathered during his studies has not only helped him in technical and practical areas of his day-to-day office work but also enabled him to make a very easy transition into being an effective and reliable manager after graduation.
He stated that “I believe IIT has contributed tremendously to the success of many students such as myself and this is the reason that today IIT has such positive industry recognition and stands among the best in higher education in the avenues of IT and Business Management, furnishing students with qualifications that are on par with world standards and is accepted worldwide for its content, quality and skill development. “We also got the opportunity to develop many soft skills from business etiquette, to presentation skills and leadership abilities. “
He noted that lecture panel was ‘brilliant’ bringing insight into the working world of business and commerce from their personal experiences and learning’s over and above the text book theory explained in careful detail.
With IIT offering internship programmes during the course of the study, Chinthaka was offered a position at Unilever IT, where he was involved in customer outlet classification projects. “Once I finished my internship they offered me a position to work there as well,” he said.
“One of the key advantages of being an IIT student is that, at job interviews we have an edge over other applicants because of the combined theoretical and practical knowledge on both IT and business fields we received. Their alumni is an endorsement of this fact, as most of them hold leading positions in various industries both here and abroad.”
With a vision to start his own firm and contribute to society by offering design solutions to help small and medium businesses to bridge the gap between IT and business to improve the efficiencies, he recommends the institute for all students and professionals looking at horning their skills in the fields of technology and commerce.
Web: www.iit.ac.lk, Email: admissions@iit.ac.lk, Hotline: 0722 72 72 72
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