Inaugural International Forum for Students (IFS) draws a full house

The inaugural International Forum for Students (IFS) scheduled to be held on the 30th of January 2018 has been oversubscribed with students from over 30 leading Local and International schools in the country. IFS is organized by the Gateway Graduate School, the higher education and professional development arm of the Gateway Group, in association with Pearson Edexcel, the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) and Teesside University, UK. The conference will feature prominent international speakers and panelists as well as local professionals with wide international exposure in diverse fields.

Instruction, Imagination, Innovation

The theme for the IFS 2018 is “Instruction, Imagination, Innovation”: The event will explore the common thread between instruction or education, imagination and innovation as relevant to the contemporaneous as well as futuristic challenges and opportunities faced by the youth in a globalized world. In essence, the conference aims to inspire the minds of students through a series of thought provoking sessions. The objective of IFS is to get students to set goals for themselves and raise their aspirations for personal growth and success.

The speakers

The speakers at the International Forum for Students 2018 include internationally renowned academics and successful Sri Lankan professionals:

Prof. Ganakumaran Subramaniam, Head of the School of Education at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus; Prof. Subramaniam will give the introductory speech on the topic “Your Future, Your Decision” and set the tone for the conference proceedings.

Ms. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, Mountaineering professional and women’s rights advocate; Ms. KuruUtumpala will speak on the topic “Climbing Your Own Everest” by sharing her experiences as a successful mountaineer who went on to become the first Sri Lankan to climb Mount Everest and inspire the participants.

Dr. Dave Morland, Associate Dean at the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law at Teesside University, UK; Dr. Morland will speak about “Instruction or Education in Relation to Imagination and Innovation” and bring in the academic perspective regarding the role of education in engendering imagination to accomplish innovation.

Mr. Rohan Pallewatte, Executive Chairman of Lanka Harness Company (Pvt) Ltd., and successful innovative entrepreneur; Mr. Pallewatte will address the gathering on the topic of “Innovation in a Globalized World” and share his insights about innovation and entrepreneurship in the present era of globalization.

The panelists

The forum will include a panel dis- cussion towards the end. In addition to Dr. Dave Morland and Mr. Rohan Pallewatte, the panel discussion will feature two more eminent persons, one from the world of sports and another from the world of arts:

Mr. Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricket legend and world record holder for the highest number of Test match wickets; Mr. Muralitharan will share his vast experience, particularly the aspects of his career that relate to constant learning that have assisted him to be successful in the world of business.

Ms. Kishani JayasingheWijayasekara, International Operatic Soprano and Deputy Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre; Ms. JayasingheWijayasekara will discuss her views about the challenges and rewards of forging a career in the field of arts that have brought immense success to her both locally and internationally.

Each of the panelists will bring in different perspectives to make the session broad and interesting.

Please call Rushika / Imeshi on 0772256356/ 2695103/ 2695107 or email info@if-s.com for more

information