Launching “Management Digest” in Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka
View(s):The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka recently launched its maiden magazine on management namely ‘Management Digest’ (Udyama). As an “A” graded management faculty of the Sri Lankan state university system, FMS always attempts to be a knowledge hub for the nation by connecting to a wider network. This magazine is an attempt as part of that extensive vision to connect and share knowledge and updated information among the wider community while bridging the gap between academia and industry.
The ceremonial launch was held at the Auditorium of the Staff Development Center, the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka where Professor Udaya Rathnayake, Vice-Chancellor, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka attended as the Chief Guest. Prof. Nalin Abeysekara (Head of Department of Marketing, Open University of Sri Lanka) and Mr. Roshan Fernando (President, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing) attended the ceremony as the keynote speaker (Guest of Honour).
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- The Team behind the success
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- Prof. Udaya Rathnayake
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- Prof. Nalin Abeysekara
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- Prof. Athula Gnanapala
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- Mr. Roshan Fernando_ President _ SLIM
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- Handingover the Magazine to the VC
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- Handing over the magazine to the Chief Guest
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- Handing over the journal to the Chief Guest
The Deans of the Faculties, Administrative Officers, Heads of the Departments of the Faculty of Management Studies, the academic and non-academic staff of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka participated in the event. The magazine was launched in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the university as the Faculty of Management Studies believes that her primary responsibility is to create and disseminate knowledge of Management Studies.
Sharing his thoughts at the launch, Professor Udaya Rathnayake stated that “It is indeed a great pleasure to see that the Faculty of Management Studies has taken a step forward by merging the incongruent binaries within the academia and the industry”. He appreciated the effort made by the Faculty of Management Studies in launching this magazine providing an avenue for dissemination of new knowledge and experiences in and out of the South Asian context.
The editorial team of Management Digest comprises an eminent panel of academics representing the Faculty of Management Studies, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. Professor Athula Gnanapala (Dean – Faculty of Management Studies) heads the magazine as the Editor-in-Chief. Dr. Sampath Wahala (Senior Lecturer), Mr. Achintha Ekanayake (Senior Lecturer), Dr. Jayantha N. Dewasiri (Senior Lecturer), Dr. T. Ushan Peiris (Senior Lecturer), and Dr. Nadee Mahawatta (Senior Lecturer) assist as editors of the magazine.
The inaugural issue of the magazine consists of articles from industry experts and researchers across the globe. Mr. Nandana A. Wickramage emphasizes the need for pragmatic research in the business environment. Mr. Dimantha Mathew discusses the strategy for 2021 emphasizing a bumpy road to economic recovery. Prof. Aarti discusses the role of artificial intelligence as the new normal in tourism. There are 15 articles in the inaugural issue covering border areas such as SME Sector, HR, Policy, Digital, Economy, Global Insight, and Sustainability.
Commenting on the launch, Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies and Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Prof. Athula Gnanapala stated that “As an academic institution, we believe that it is our primary responsibility to work towards the betterment of the society through new initiatives such as magazines and journals to disseminate the new management knowledge. There is a paucity of management magazines in and out of South Asia. Hence, FMS has initiated this magazine to collaborate with the industry for a win-win and to address current issues in management. We believe that the business leaders will consider this magazine as a platform to share their winning strategies, stories, and experiences for the betterment of the community and it will bridge the gaps between the applications of theories and the industry practice.”
Sharing his views about the magazine, Mr. Roshan Fernando (President, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing) stated that “It is a great step taken by the Faculty of Management Studies in providing a platform in developing a knowledge-based economy in Sri Lanka. The development of research journals and business magazines paves the way towards the development of economy where the community can learn from others’ experiences and generate new knowledge”.
Prof. Nalin Abeysekara (Head of Department of Marketing, Open University of Sri Lanka) stated that the establishment of new initiatives such as journals and magazines may enhance the global visibility of the state universities and it may have a positive impact on the university rankings. He appreciated the step taken by the Faculty of Management Studies in developing new platforms for the dissemination of knowledge and the experiences of the industry practitioners.
Sharing his thoughts, Chairman of the Faculty of Research and Publication Unit Prof. MSM Aslam stated that “we are keen on taking necessary steps in collaboration with the industry while providing infrastructure to disseminate industry experiences since those are not documented elsewhere. It is a vital role for us to contribute to the broader world in a broader sense since it is one of our primary responsibilities, this is the reason behind the introduction of this quality outlet”.
As a Managing Editor of the journal, Mr. Achintha Ekanayake stated that “we plan to distribute this magazine to a wider community sending it to the large and medium enterprises in Sri Lanka which will provide a platform to learn from others’ experiences. We applied a different model in marketing it where it is free for the readers and charged from the sponsors.
We invite industry leaders and academicians to contribute to this esteemed magazine for the upcoming issues. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone especially the authors, scientific editors, our designer: Ms. Sandamini, Sponsors, printing partner, and the entire magazine team who spent sleepless nights in making this dream a reality”
The future issues of the magazine will focus on contemporary issues in management while providing some solutions and recommendations to overcome the challenges.
The magazine can be easily accessed through https://www.sab.ac.lk/mgmt/managementdigest/