Deakin Week in Colombo
For the first time in Sri Lanka 30 Academic Professionals from Australia!
Taking an hour during the break of a hectic day following a hectic week, the Education Times team had the opportunity to have a chat with the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Deakin University Australia in charge of Global Engagement; Professor Gary Smith.
A group of 30 academic professionals from Deakin University were in Colombo for Deakin Week in Colombo – a programme of events and engagements to showcase Deakin University’s unique connections with Sri Lanka. Deakin has a permanent office in Colombo, which supports these year-round – but Deakin Week was a special opportunity to provide extra value to their partners and potential students. The five-day program reflects the breadth and depth o f partnerships across all of Deakin’s faculties encompassing the Sri Lankan education and community sectors, government and industry.
Prof Gary Smith stated, “We never get down 30 academic staff in one place anywhere outside of Australia, but Sri Lanka and Deakin have a long standing relationship. Colombo works as a fantastic hub, and apart from that, Sri Lankan hospitality is a delight!”
During the discussion it was also stated by Carl Jones, Deakin’s International Manager, that students from Sri Lanka perform exceptionally well at Deakin, winning a disproportionate number of scholarships, become office bearers of many clubs and societies at Deakin, and after graduation go on to carve out tremendous careers.
The team from Deakin has paid visits to partner institutions Royal Institute of Colombo, Institute of Chemistry of Sri Lanka, Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT), CICRA, ANC Education, International Institute of Health Sciences ( IIHS), Sri Lanka Technological Campus ( SLTC), Institute of Quantity Surveyors, and University of Moratuwa. Deakin representatives also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a research partnership with the latter.
Further, a Sustainability Launch was carried out with the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development ( incl. Urban Development Authority and National Water Supply and Drainage Board) and a Cyber Security (incl. Smart Cities) event in collaboration with CICRA for professionals in the ICT Sector.
Amidst all of this, events for potential candidates and prospective students for Engineering, Biomedical Science, Information Technology, Construction and Architecture ( UG/ PG) students were held.
Student sessions on Business/ Commerce ( UG/ PG), and a professional development workshop with Sri Lanka- Australia- New Zealand Business Council of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce formed part of the week’s highlight reel.
With regards to the health sector, student sessions on Nursing, Psychology and Medicine, and a professional development session for registered nurses in Sri Lanka in collaboration with International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS) was conducted.
Workshops were held in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka. These included Teacher Training for TESOL educators and a seminar on effectively leading schools for principals.
There were further visits to University of Kelaniya by Deakin delegates to discuss collaborative arrangements.
Student guest lectures and information sessions on Communication and Creative Arts, I n t e r national Re l a t i o n s , Humanitarian Assistance, and Policy Studies were also conducted.
For the first time in Sri Lanka, Deakin conducted an information session followed by one- on- one counselling session for potential PhD students. Involving all of Deakin’s faculties, the session proved highly engaging and for some of Sri Lanka’s best and brightest minds, a chance to engage in targeted discussions with some world renowned researchers.
To end the week with a blast, a networking event was held for the alumni, partners and friends of Deakin.
Prof Smith highlighted the sustainability launch and the discussion of the smart cities concept. The problems faced by the cities of Colombo and Melbourne were quite similar, primarily because of the congestion at peak hours and the pollution which takes place with it. Cross-country collaboration and discussion can make for better research, can inspire ideas and ultimately make for better policy making.
Deakin Week in Colombo has already created ripples, again improving Deakin’s deep links with the country. One thing Professor Smith said he’d like to see is getting more students from Australia to Sri Lanka. While this has been achieved through mobility programs like Deakin’s Ampara Project with the Aspirations Education Foundation, there’s scope to expand these kinds of links.
On an ending note Prof Smith stated, “you will see us again, probably with more staff in the next two years, and this Deakin Week in Colombo will keep getting better!”