Financial Times - Carson spearheads the annual convention of undergraduates

Carson Cumberbatch, one of Sri Lanka’s leading diversified conglomerates, hosted the Annual Convention of Undergraduates 2006 at the BMICH recently.

The convention titled: “Achieving True Potential by Developing the Right Behavioural Competencies” saw over 600 university students from 12 universities gathered at the venue, with their academic staff and officials of the respective Career Guidance Units, deriving the benefits of the yeoman effort to the fullest, the company said.

The convention, hosted as an annual event with the objective of creating a culture of learning competencies relevant to the contemporary job market, is an important component of Carson Cumberbatch Company’s (Carson) corporate social responsibility charter, as they strongly believe that this is an effective way of making a lasting contribution towards the socio-economic prosperity of the country.

Chief Guest at the event, M Murugappan, Senior Director of Murugappa Group of Companies, Chennai, India, delivered the keynote address on the theme “If you think you can, you can!” He inspired the audience by explaining how people with passion, inspiration and commitment have reached zeniths and made ripples in the fabric of society that have gone on to influence the entire world, beyond any individual imagination.

Deepal Suriarachchi, Managing Director of Eagle Insurance, sharing his personal life experiences with the gathering, explained how behavioural competencies are of extreme importance with regard to achieving the apex in any career. Touching on the subject of “the myth of the well educated manager”, he explained how academic achievement alone will not create a successful professional.

Varuni Amunugama Fernando, Managing Partner, Triad, who spoke on “Communication and Interpersonal Skills Trigger Both Social and Commercial opportunities”, took a pragmatic approach to explain the importance of developing good communication skills, in order to build effective relationships.

The second half of the day was dedicated for an interactive session conducted by Adventure Asia, which included various activities aimed at building true comradeship among the participants, with a deeper objective geared towards the development of interpersonal skills.

This session afforded a rare opportunity for the undergraduates from various parts of the country, including the north and east, to interact with one another and provided them with an excellent platform to exchange views and share ideas.

The Vice Chancellors and Deans, and academic staff of participating all universities, the Chairman of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Directors and officials of Carson Cumberbatch & Co. were also present at the convention. The convention was followed by a meeting between the Carson Management Team and the officials of Career Guidance Units to share the views on how best to carry this initiative forward.