“Innovative Brand in Business Education”: Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies (FCMS) of University of Kelaniya
We were fortunate to sit with Dean of the Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies, Dr. Narada Fernando to discuss some of the highlights and milestones the faculty has achieved within a relatively very short period.
FCMS is striving hard to shed the public perception usually tied to national universities in Sri Lanka though it has undoubtedly scaled many remarkable heights in the Sri Lankan university education.
From its humble beginning as a sub department under the department of Economics in Faculty of Social Sciences in 1976 to gradually becoming a fully-fledged faculty in 1995, it has come long way indeed!
Currently, faculty boasts five departments under its wings namely Department of Commerce & Financial Management, Department of Human Resources Management, Department of Accountancy, Department of Marketing Management and Department of Finance. These departments within the faculty offer fourteen undergraduate programmes including three external degrees.
Post Graduate Degree Programs offered by the faculty include Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Master of Business Administration ( MBA), various master degree programmes and Post Graduate Diplomas. Most importantly, It should be noted that DBA offered by the faculty is the only such programme currently being offered in Sri Lankan National University system.
Recognition and Standards -
One of the key highlights of the faculty is its strict adherence to the guidelines set up by the University Grant Commission (UGC) in terms of student’s intake, teaching methodology, and evaluation and awarding degrees. In line with this, UGC recently concluded Site Evaluation audit of the faculty and four out of five departments scored ‘A’ rating and one department scored ‘B’ rating. In addition to that Department of Marketing Management has already obtained the ISO certification.
Moreover, all the curriculums are revised every five years to keep up with the rapid changes in the business world.
Undergraduate Internships –
Another noteworthy element in the FCMS degree programmes is the internship programme with minimum one year in the relevant industry that every student has to complete in order to be qualified for their degree.
Currently, FCMS has around 2400 students enrolled for eleven degree programmes. Staff strength to cater them is about 129 out of which 35 of them are PhD holders in their relevant fields.
Winning the World Bank Competitive Grant –
Dean was very proud to announce that under the recently concluded World Bank Competitive Grant Scheme, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies was able to reserve its place as one of the winners out of the qualified faculties for the Rs. 100 million worth World Bank grant.
These funds are mainly focused on
Aligning curriculum with national and international qualification standards Enriching the teaching and learning environment Developing social and inter cultural harmony among the students
Cultivating innovation, entrepreneurial and employment mindsets among undergraduates of FCMS and English Language Skill enhancement
Dean also stated that his faculty generates the highest percentage of income to the university and out
of which the faculty contributes a portion to the University development.
Other Services Offered by FCMSFCMS
offers Corporate Training Services such as General, Industry specific and Tailor made training Programs. Additionally, FCMS is the only officially designated training centre for SAP ERP system in Sri Lanka.
Prominently, FCMS is one of the foremost in offering a MBA programme in Bangladesh in partnership with an education Institution.
And in addition to above facts, Faculty takes the prominence in publishing Kelaniya Journal of Management; the only Journal published by Sri Lankan national universities which is indexed in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Year of Celebrations
FCMS will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020 with its successful conduct since its establishment. Also it will be celebrating 10th anniversary of its annual International Conference of Business and Information (ICBI).
Future Plans
Faculty looks forward to establish an Entrepreneurial Skills Development Centre in order to inculcate the entrepreneurial skills in the undergraduates and general public. Further, establishing a Lecture theater in Colombo to deliver lectures in weekdays to address students’ inability to attend lectures due to unnecessary rush hours during the weekday evenings is another major plan of the FCMS.
Faculty is in discussion with University of Central Queensland to offer its Master of Professional Accountancy( MPA) to Master of Business ( MBus) students in Sri Lanka. This will be a very unique set up where students will be able to pursue this course online and MBus students will be exempted up to 10 subjects from MPA. It should be stated that if this online facility comes in place, it will be available only for Sri Lankan MBus students.
Moreover, FCMS is currently in discussion with few more foreign Universities to offer split type PhD programmes.
Dean’s Final Take
In Dean’s view, it’s all these initiatives and innovative teaching methodologies that have resulted in changing student’s mindset which in turn has led to produce higher employability where the FCMS graduates ended up being one of the most sought after in the industry.
Further, he emphasised all what the faculty has achieved so far is a result of unity among dedicated and motivated academic staff members at the faculty which is led by Heads of the Departments.
Dean’s final advice to the corporate world at large is to regard education as an investment rather than a cost as students spend only 4-5 years of their lives in the universities where the rest of their productive lives will be spending in the industry. Therefore, if the industry can engage further in the initial stage of setting up of curriculum itself they would need not to spend in staff training when they hire them later.