Saegis Campus fosters a research based holistic tertiary education and social responsibility

Saegis Campus, a pioneer private higher education provider in Sri Lanka in a bid to promote student centric learning is opening up more learning and research opportunities to their students through their well- established international partner university programmes, Deakin University, Australia and Herriot Watt University, UK.

Offering an interesting array of undergraduate degrees in Sri Lanka at an affordable cost, students will be encouraged to associate a wide range of readings drawn from multi disciplines in broadening their horizons and in better relating with the research and learning opportunities that exist in the international community.

Prof. Samson Ekanayake, CEO/ Vice-Chancellor designate, Saegis Campuswhohas,over 42 years of experience in academia and administration, and served as a senior academic and as the Head of Finance, Financial Planning and Insurance Disciplines at University of Deakin, Australia for 24 years before assuming the post of CEO at Saegis Campus is a renowned researcher, a practitioner. Hestrongly believes that research and presentation should form an integral part of any degree programme, and thatstudents and young researchers should strive to think out of the box, debating the established theories and aiming to establish new ones.

He says “Higher education plays an essential role in society by creating new knowledge, transmitting it to students and fostering innovation. Therefore higher education institutions needs to ensure that the education they offer meets the expectations of students and the requirements of employers, both today and for the future. As such, institutions today have been challenged to involve students in handson research experiences to enhance their learning. The aim atSaegis is therefore the production of active wisdom by engaging students in research and practice. We believe that the essence of undergraduate research is thesupportive, encouraging and intellectual partnership among students and their faculty mentors through which they apply knowledge gained in the classroom to new questions and problems”.

It is with this aim that Saegis International Forum of Intellectuals and Experts (SIFIE) was launched by Prof. Ekanayake,in February this year to provide greater exposure to their students in linking up with the world of academia and professionals and paving the way for intellectual prowess.

The inaugural lecture was delivered by the guest speaker Prof PremachandraAthukorala on “Sri Lanka’s Post-Conflict Development Challenge: Learning from the Past.”This was followed by another intellectual debate on ‘Globalization, Skills and Management Education in Sri Lanka’ delivered by theguest speaker, Prof. Dharma De Silva in June 2016.

Saegis Campus also places a great deal of emphasis in shaping socially responsible citizens and makes every effort to promote core values of active citizenship whilst imparting holistic education through their international degree programmes.

“We realise that it is a competitive market out there and in terms of creating an ongoing stream of satisfied alumni, attracting new students and addressing the concerns of business supporters, a strategy which incorporates CSR is essential. Therefore one of our key aims is to foster all-round personal development and educate our youth to be responsible, informed and committed persons working for a better future. To achieve this objective, we are now offering our students more opportunities to work with more society based programmes.

Inculcating value driven programmes to promote critical thinking and a research culture and cultivating the values of social responsibility amongst their students Saegis Campus intends to be a centre of knowledge thatproduces youth who willnot only be sparks to better the economy anditsbusiness but also improve the quality of life in their communities.