Moratuwa dons focus on industrial research
By Suren Gnanaraj
The University of Moratuwa plans to use its scientific skills to help industry and do research specifically to meet industrial needs through its University Industry Interaction Cell (UIIC).

"With the help of the UIIC, we hope to reduce the mismatch that exists between the university and the industry," said Professor Priyan Dias, Chairman of the UIIC.
"We hope to work more closely in directing our scientific expertise towards fulfilling industrial needs and improving technological transfers."

With the feedback received from the industry, the university's research can be focused towards specific industrial requirements, which would benefit both parties in the long term, he said. Such an atmosphere would motivate academics further, to pursue their research and inventions.

He said he believed the reason why Sri Lanka has not given prominence to technological inventions, unlike in countries like Japan, was because its economy is based on trade.

So much of research has been done over the years by the university, and many technical papers presented on various topics to improve local industry, but only a few have actually materialised, he said.

The UIIC was set up under an Asian Development Bank sponsored Science and Technology Personnel Development Project. The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Michael Ranasinghe said the UIIC was set up to create new opportunities for the university.

Various departments of the university sometimes lack the time and the resources to organize seminars and short courses, which would now be handled by the UIIC, giving the university its much-needed exposure, he said.

The Director of the UIIC, Surani Dias, said she was amazed at the scientific advancement the university had made, which unfortunately, she added, has not been used by anybody.

She said that she is determined to reverse this cycle and generate more interest amongst industrialists to use the abundant resources available in the institution.
The UIIC has drawn up an extensive programme of seminars and short courses aimed at continuous professional development. She said that following the successful completion of the seminar, many industrialists have shown interest in exploring the opportunities the university has to offer them.

New Country Manager at SGS
SGS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has appointed D. Dharmadasa as its country manager responsible for entire operation in Sri Lanka.The company is a member of the SGS Group of companies, the world's largest organization in the filed of inspection, verification and testing.

The group founded in 1878 has expanded across the world, operating in 140 countries, with 335 subsidiaries, more than 1200 offices, 342 laboratories and over 31,000 employees. SGS is a leading force in verification and monitoring for international trade in agricultural, mineral, oil gas and chemicals and consumer products as well as international certifications and services to governments and international institutions. The SGS group is dedicated to the creative development of new services and solutions.

Dharmadasa, the first Sri Lankan to be appointed as the country manager of SGS Lanka after his predecessor Jeanne Ohando took an appointment in SGS Quebec, Canada, has a Bachelors and Masters degrees in chemical sciences from the University of Peradeniya and a Masters Degree in Business Management from the University of Colombo.

His previous appointments were as assistant lecturer and research assistant at Peradeniya University, and biochemist at the Medical Research Institute.

Lankan jewellery designer dazzles in New York
A Sri Lankan jewellery designer, Mueen Saheed, has won the Golden Apple Award at the Jewellers' Association of New York Golden Apple Award Summer Show 2002.
The award is presented annually to exhibitors with great talent and outstanding year-round marketing and recognises participants for the use of innovation, sparkle, fusion and allure in their marketing efforts.

His winning design series is called Vatti (Sieve) and it has eight collections. The jewellery designed by Saheed features different kinds of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, yellow sapphires, pink sapphires and star sapphires.

This is the second time that Saheed has won recognition for his talent internationally, the first being in 1996 at the same awards ceremony, when he was first Runner-up in the Women's Jewellery category.

Professor P.J.R. Dharmaratne, Chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Association, said he wished that like Saheed many more would display their skills. Designs made in Sri Lanka should mirror the island's ethnicity and culture, he said.

Sri Lanka, which exports gems worth six billion rupees a year, should concentrate more on designing jewellery rather than simply exporting finely cut gems.
Ratna Sivaratnam, Chairman of the Export Development Board (EDB), which is helping talented young designers, said: "Saheed has a lot of talent. His innovative creations are based on the traditional gem baskets. This was the key reason for choosing Saheed to represent Sri Lanka at the show."

Indira Malwatte, Director of the EDB, said that Saheed created his own designs rather than copying designs from international magazines. The EDB should concentrate on putting out more value added products to the market, she said. (Thushara)

Market dips ahead of IPOs
The stock market fell last week, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) dipping below the 800-point mark, as investors sold shares to gain liquidity ahead of the forthcoming Sri Lanka Telecom initial public offer.

The ASPI closed the week at 798.87 after opening at 810.62 on Monday while the Milanka price index closed at 1326.68 having opened the week at 1352.1.
Stockbrokers said the market dipped as investors liquidated their holdings to gain cash for the forthcoming IPOs such as SLT and the Lanka Hospital Corporation, which runs Apollo hospital.

One broker said foreign buyers were not as enthusiastic as before because of the SEC investigation into its own chairman's sale of Aitken Spence shares.
The Plantation Sector moved up sharply early in the week on news of the government's decision to impose limits on management fees in Regional Plantation Companies.

This is expected to stop the draining off of RPC profits by the management firms. But plantation stocks came down again towards the end of the week in keeping with the overall downward market trend. Significant quantities of Lanka Ceramics were traded during the week while HNB, Vanik, and Merchant Bank did well despite the banking sector reacting badly to the budget recommendations the previous week.

On Thursday the banking sector was the second largest in terms of turnover with 610,451 shares traded. (TM)