EDEX 2010, the National Higher Education and Careers Expo, the largest exhibition of its kind in Sri Lanka, will be held for the seventh consecutive year from January 15 to 17 at the BMICH, Colombo and January 19 and 20 at the Kandy City Centre.

Members of the Head Table. From Left to Right: Mr. Indunil Liyanage (Assistant Vice President Marketing, NDB Bank PLC), Mr. Suren Amarasekere (CEO- Mobitel), Mrs. Lakshmi Attygalle (Deputy Principal, Royal College), Mr. Nazar Majeed (Director Marketing, Singer Sri Lanka PLC), Mr. Kamal Abeysinghe (Chairman EDEX 2010), Mr. Rizan Nazeer (Secretary Royal College Union) Dr. Dayan Rajapaksha (CEO/Managing Director ESOFT Computer Studies (Pvt) Ltd), Dr. Punarjeeva Karunanayake (CEO/Executive Director ANC Education and Mr Sujeewa Rajapakse (Vice President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka)

This mega event organised by Royal College Union is expected to draw over 100,000 visitors from all over the Island. The event actively supports its long term vision of "Empowering Sri Lankan Youth to be Globally Competitive". The exhibition will comprise over 300 stalls representing over 23 countries providing youth choices, options and opportunities in education and training, to arm them with the right knowledge, qualifications and skills necessary to excel in their chosen careers.

"For the last seven years, our vision has been to empower local youth by exposing them to world class education and training options which will lead to gainful employment," EDEX 2010 Chairman, Kamal Abeysinghe explained. To be held at the turn of a new decade and the dawn of a new era in a unified Sri Lanka, EDEX 2010 will be the one-stop platform for students, school leavers, undergraduates and parents alike to seek guidance from representatives of local and foreign universities and educational institutions in higher education, vocational training and skills development.

He added that education and skills development are the ideal solutions to eradicate the issue of poverty in the country as it would lead to more opportunities being generated across the Island. "We are empowering students and youth across Sri Lanka to choose the right education and vocational training which suits them best and helps to guarantee their employability. Through generating jobs we can also ensure equitable social development of the country with similar opportunities in all parts of society."

Over 250 foreign universities represented directly or through their agents from countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Japan, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal, Switzerland, Cyprus, France, New Zealand, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Spain, Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Maldives will provide information on the courses available, requirements for scholarships awarded by them, as well as 'On site' spot admissions and advice and guidance on student visas and other relevant information. Several scholarships and special offers await the discerning visitors at the Expo.

The Careers Services unit of EDEX will have a special counter to provide career guidance to visitors who seek advice on the choices, options, and opportunities in the ever evolving sphere of careers. Free consultations with learned professionals with years of experience in various fields will be available for visitors to talk to and expand their knowledge and gather insights on specific professions, latest trends in employment and the evolving employment opportunities of the corporate world. Another add-on this year will be seminars on "latest trends in careers" conducted by experienced career guidance experts.
EDEX has also gone one step further with the launch of their revamped website www.edex.lk which provides access to the three most significant facilities offered - the Expo itself, Careers and Think Green through three dedicated web portals. The site will be maintained 24x7 to provide a convenient and up to date one-stop online resource to access these services by the most discerning young minds anywhere, even outside Sri Lanka.

Of these three portals, the Careers Portal is unique in that it offers both job seekers and providers of career related services to share information with each other over the same web platform. The advantage for seekers of education, training or job opportunities is that they can search for those opportunities that best suit their individual needs by uploading their CVs.

They can also browse career guidance resources which can provide guidance on job specific skills to improve their employability as well as help to better manage their careers from an early stage. This career profiling service is online and free of charge. The advantage for course providers is that they can reach a large youthful population looking for opportunities to further their careers by publishing details of courses offered. The advantage for employers is that they can reduce the cost of recruiting suitable staff thanks to the filtering process which identifies candidates that best match the criteria for a specific vacancy.

Following up on the successful 'Green Zone' initiated by EDEX in 2009, students with a 'Green' conscious mindset will be provided with a dynamic environment to help decide the course of their future and promote the sustainable living concept at the EDEX 2010 - 'Green Zone'.

This year, the EDEX Green Zone will bring together exhibitors, individuals and corporate entities keen to display, exhibit and showcase their green initiatives, products, services, technological innovations, education, skills development and employment opportunities with the objective of educating, activating and engaging Sri Lankan youth on sustainable living.

In line with the Government's priority to focus on education to take the nation forward, EDEX 2010 is formally endorsed by the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower and Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training. EDEX is also supported by the Strategic Partnership of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, ICTA, AMCHAM and European Chamber of Commerce.

Platinum sponsors for the event are Singer Sri Lanka PLC and ESOFT, Gold Sponsors are Mobitel (Private) Limited, American National College and NDB Bank PLC (Official Bankers) and the Silver Sponsor is The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. As event partners, UPS is the Official Courier and Business Toady is the Official Business Magazine.

For more details please contact Ranjith 0115 521 497 at the EDEX Secretariat at RCU, Rajakeeya Mawatha Colombo 07 or visit www.edex.lk or email info@edex.lk or fax 0112 683 100