Unlocking New Horizons- Wisen up with Horizon Campus
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Horizon College of Business Technology specializes in all four divisions of education under the Horizon College of Business and Technology entity; Pre-School, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary and Higher Education.
Together, the Pre-School, Primary and the Secondary Education divisions function under Horizon College International, which is a government, registered private international school. Horizon Campus is the Tertiary and Higher Education division of the Horizon College of Business and Technology (HCBT) Private Ltd and was founded in 2011.
Horizon Campus is a trade mark owned by Horizon College of Business and Technology (Pvt) Ltd, and, it is registered under the Intellectual Property Office of the Registrar of Companies. Chairman Upul Daranagama shared a glimpse of the splendor which a student can experience at Horizon Campus.
What does it mean for Horizon Campus to strive within the highly competitive higher education market?
Retracing the journey to 10 years in the past, it started off as a mere dream. Horizon Campus is predominantly established to ensure best quality higher education opportunities to both local and international youth. The primary goal is to be recognized as the best residential campus of Sri Lanka whilst maintaining the highest level of quality.
The campus started off by being focused on Business and IT related degree programmes. Currently, the portfolio has expanded to include Management, IT, Education, Science, and Law.. The objective is to bridge the gap between the demand for higher education and the supply to facilitate said demand.
Since state universities grant entry for those who are deemed fortunate, the rest are left to resort to other options. At the time of incorporation, the approval process was fairly simple. Horizon started as a Tertiary College and gradually achieved UGC/MoHE approval in the non-state sector for higher educational institutions in 2014 as a degree awarding entity. That was the turning point of the journey. Currently, Horizon Campus is a locally and internationally recognized institution.
What are the specializations which are offered at Horizon Campus?
Horizon Campus offer 2 types of programmes; The UGC approved unique local degree programmes ranging from Business, IT & Education (and for BioTechnology, Psychology Accounting in the immediate future) and International Degrees.
Horizon Campus has close affiliations with an assortment of foreign universities. These universities offer additional programs like Bio-Technology, Law and Early Childhood Education degrees.
What are these affiliated foreign universities?
University of London is a notable affiliation. Nilai and Asia e Universities in Malaysia are other recognized degree awarding entities affiliated with Horizon Campus. Arkansas State University represents the partnership Horizon Campus has established with USA,
What is the culture cultivated in Horizon Campus?
The culture of Horizon Campus is based on achieving quality and consistency while producing employable graduates. Fledgling undergraduates who enter through the doors are nurtured into industrial potent individuals when they walk into the market as graduates.
It is mandatory for each student to undergo a minimum 6 month long internship before the completion of the designated degree programme. This ensures that a job is guaranteed once the student graduates (given that all the requirements are properly achieved).
Weaknesses of the undergraduates have been identified and evaluated. A certain segment of students struggle in terms of basic ICT knowledge and English Literacy. To remedy these shortcomings, Horizon Campus offers a 2/3 month preparation course to give them a chance to improve themselves. Basic ICT knowledge and English literacy are highly sought after attributes within the highly competitive job market.
Does Horizon Campus find internships for its students?
Horizon Campus recommends internship placements for its students. It is also the responsibility of the students ensure that they achieve the sufficient grades and get through interviews in obtaining suitable internship opportunities. These institutions are keen to recruit our students for the last few years. This means that the industry has a positive response for the student output of Horizon Campus. Reputed companies willingly grant employment opportunities to students because of the positive impressions left by past students.
Horizon Campus tends to provide internal internships whenever the need arises. Students can take the role of a teacher for a short period. These teaching posts are available in the sister school of Horizon College International. They can also opt to teach within the Horizon Pre-School network. Those who wish to persue a career in teaching pre-school children can receive the mandatory training within the Horizon network.
How qualified are the lecturers at Horizon Campus?
As a Government approved university, Horizon Campus sets high standards in the quality of the product which is delivered. To achieve that quality, the presence of proficient lecturers is essential. At present Campus boasts 11 Ph.D holders in its permanent cadre inclusive of 2 Professor’s.
The lecturer qualification levels depend on each programme level. For a lecturer who wishes to teach and undergraduate level, a Masters Level qualification is expected. Similarly, a person who wishes to teach at Masters Level needs to be in possession of a PhD. These procedures are managed according to international standards and norms. Every lecturer who steps into the university premises is expected to have sufficient qualifications and/or experience to teach at the relevant degree level.
An internal quality assurance unit is established to ensure that these lecturers are monitored regularly. They will be evaluated according to performance, peer reviews and student feedback.
Does Horizon Campus promote soft skills development?
As a private sector university, Horizon Campus’s focus is not limited solely towards academics. Opportunities are laid out to develop student’s soft skills at every horizon. Societies (Science, ICT, Environmental etc), sports and other extra curricular activities are present to make the experience more worthwhile. Each student will have time to engage in such activities.
A student council is established to work in close collaboration with the student community. Social activities are conducted through these collaborations. Blood donation, road clearance campaigns and a plethora of religious and festive activities are held regularly to ensure that students are engaged in social events.
These activities give opportunities for students to develop their soft skills. Leadership, teamwork, presentation, cognitive skills and critical thinking are aspects which are inherently developed due to the exposure and the experience that is generated through these events.
In terms of leisurely activities, Horizon Campus has its own cricket ground, swimming pool and basketball/ netball/Volleyball courts. Utdoor facilities are rented out to train students in Badminton, on a weekly basis. Students can perform a handful of activities amongst themselves by utilizing these infrastructure.
Horizon Campus has close associations with the private education sector. As a founder member of the SLANSHEI (Sri Lanka Association of Non State Higher Education Institutions) students at Horizon Campus have opportunities to engage and interact with students from other private universities. Inter-university seminars, workshops, conferences, sports events are held consistently. Due to these events, extroverts will gradually transform into introverts.
How does Horizon Campus
plan to shape its legacy?
The plan is to become the best residential campus in Sri Lanka which contains all the facilities imaginable. It wishes to operate in a green environment and wishes to produce globally empowered and employable graduates.
What are the plans
for the future?
Horizon Campus has entered into a major expansion process. The management wishes to expand the current 6 faculties into a large scale campus, constructed in a 22 acre land. The investment made for the project hovers around 5 billion rupees. Phase one of the expansion process is scheduled to be concluded during the early stages of 2020. Thereafter, the Campus will be moving into the new premises in Horizon Drive. The new premises shall have the capacity to facilitate around 12,000 students. This has the potential to be immortalized as the largest private investment into the higher education sector.
The student representation shall not be limited to local undergraduates; this shall provide opportunities to attract international students into the Horizon family. Currently, statistics show that the rate of students who travel abroad for higher education keeps on skyrocketing. That is a massive monetary outflow which otherwise could have been contributed towards the local economy. Horizon Campus wants to reduce that outflow, and at the same time generate an inflow where foreign students voluntarily bring in international currency for the domestic economy.
What is your assurance
to the society?
As a university, we are embarked on a journey. That journey looks beyond the notion of just simply earning money. It is a journey taken to give a significant contribution towards the society, country and overall give a contribution to the entire world. This is not limited for a single generation; it will reverberate through time, to the generations which are yet to come.
The fact if it is a public or private university is redundant, as long as the university under consideration addresses the issues which actually matter. Universities are meant to gift quality education and make sure that undergraduates are made employable before they pass out as fully fledged graduates. That is the assurance that the society needs through any academic entity, and those who chose Horizon Campus shall never have any cause for disappointment.
Randheer Mallawaarachchi