Professor Kshanika Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo delivers the convocation speech at BMS Graduation Ceremony. Professor Kshanika Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo delivers the convocation speech at BMS Graduation Ceremony.

Mr. Paul Leonard (Northumbria University), MrChrishan de Mel (Resource Person), Mr. W.A. Wijewardena (President BMS), Prof. Kshanika Hirumberegama, Vice Chacellor, University of Colombo (Chief Guest), Mr. Tony Reilly, Country Director, British Council (Guest of Honour), Dr. Rohan Perera (University of Colombo), Mr. Guy Brown (Northumbria University)

BMS Graduation Ceremony 2010

While I have attended many graduation ceremonies in my lifetime every one of them has been a special moment of celebrations of achievement. Today's is no different, yet it takes place at a time when our way of life is changing very fast, if not fastest. Today's graduation marks the beginning of a new era of professionally competent academics. Therefore, I cannot but help feel excited about your launch into the world out there. It is a moment when every teacher feels excited .Today is the day you have all worked so hard for. Today is the day, you move from one realm to yet another. Today is when you lose the comfort zones of the teacher and venture out into an unknown world to charter your own course.

The degree programme imparts upon you the most important of lessons, 'The lessons of learning'. It is more important to learn how to learn than it is actually to learn. I call upon all Graduates to live by helping the society and the country - the Mother Lanka. I invite all our Graduates to involve in our development project and it is the time you must contribute towards the country's development.

The notion of enterprise in the public sector may not hold much promise as we are attuned to thinking of the public sector as a slow, inefficient and bureaucratic option. However, universities are government institutions which are hardly expected to exercise enterprise grade entrepreneurial attitude. Today universities around the world are facing challenges both competitive and academic. It goes without saying, therefore, that we are compelled to think differently and pro-actively in all areas of the university system. I see British universities such as Northumbria University's partnership with BMS as an innovative model of a university's global expansion for transnational presence.

The courses in Business and other fields such as Science and Technology demand curricula that render its disciples more employable. In this respect academic syllabi must maintain relevance taking into account rapid developments in these fields. Hence only industry and academic partnership can maintain and ensure curricula that take into account cutting edge developments in the respective fields of study and thus stay abreast of advancements in all areas.

On the other hand the institution per se is required to stay profitable, and therefore the university must become a profit centre. The market needs employable, innovative thinkers and doers and the university must provide this stream of human resource to industry.

As more and more companies hire directly from universities and programmes it is clear that work placement opportunities for graduates of these programmes have gained a higher degree of employability. The programme of study in Leadership & Management instil in the student, latest skills and knowledge that allows and permits them to be armed with the most advanced body of knowledge on the subject from anywhere across the globe.

I see British universities such as Northumbria University's partnership with BMS as an innovative model of a university's global expansion for transnational presence. Sri Lanka holds much promise and very frequently we see some of our best brains flourishing in countries afar. It is therefore no mystery that the academic traditions must improve in leaps and bounds along with private and public partnership to ensure that the best brains remain with us in our land. Working as a team, we should be able to take our universities to the next level.