CIMA concludes ‘Hundred and 10%’ - first ever ‘Virtual Career Festival’ on a high

‘Hundred & 10%’, the first ever ‘Virtual Career Festival’ organised by CIMA, the world’s leading and largest professional management accountancy body, concluded with high praise for presenting a programme filled with timely informative sessions, closely fought competitions and real world winners. 
The festival, held from September 13 to 19, featured global and local industry leaders speaking on a diverse array of business topics, an elevator pitch competition and a hackathon, CIMA said in a media release.
The weeklong event attracted over thousand registrations for 17 sessions built around Technical, Leadership, People, Business, and Digital Skills, the five skills covered in the CGMA Competency Framework. Over 45 speakers from Sri Lanka and overseas came together to discuss, debate and deliberate on a diverse array of topics important for employability over seven days.
Day One of the event focused on technical skills with sessions on pushing oneself above and beyond, and the importance of the ‘Power of Numbers’ was presented to the participants. Day Two was all about people skills, with a forum discussion on ‘Swimming with the Big Fish’ and a focused workshop on ‘Creating a Winning Impression’ leading the agenda. The day also saw the much hyped ‘Hackathon’ event take place with over 50 teams applying for the 24-hour event with cash prizes on the offer, followed with the winning team members also being offered employment from a leading conglomerate.
Leadership skills dominated the conversation on Day Three, with the timely topic ‘Breaking the Glass Ceiling’, starting the day off, with a stellar panel of female leaders followed by a lively discussion on ‘Succeeding Through Collaborations’. The more serious discussions on business skills covering topics such as ‘Guardians of the Money’ and ‘Starting Something Big’ were reserved for Day Four, while the closely contested Elevator Pitch competition with over 25 applicants fighting for 4 spots in the final, and a coveted cash prize for the ultimate winner was the highlight of Day Five, which also hosted the discussion ‘Becoming Entrepreneurial’.
The last two days of the event dived into interesting offerings. Day Six was all about diversity, with thematic presentations on ‘Creating Magic’ and ‘Employability in the New World’ capturing talent, diversity and inclusivity in the workspace whilst also showcasing the diversity of the CIMA members who ranged from marketing giants to entrepreneurs. The last day of the festival reminded all participants of the newest and most versatile tool, digital skills. ‘Embracing Opportunities and Riding High’, and ‘Digital Innovation’ were first discussed on Day Seven, which ended on the aptly titled presentation ‘Tomorrow’s Skills’, CIMA said in the release.