“MBA University of Kelaniya”: New Intake in Progress-2020
Q University of Kelaniya commands a leading edge in Business Management education. What it is the mark of University of Kelaniya in the domain of business management education and MBA?
A. Yes, University of Kelaniya ( UoK) marks the competitive edge as a leading state university and it contributes to the knowledge requirements of different subject disciplines including business management as a salient feature. The Innovative learning culture, blended dissemination systems and outcome-based teaching strategies on multidisciplinary programs are the prominence of UoK in business management education. In fact, the Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies is a well-framed faculty to deliver innovative business education in par with the contemporary educational requirements of the industry.
Our undergraduate programs are well – embedded with timely required knowledge and skills development avenues ensuring the outcome of competent business management graduates with professionalism.
When it comes to MBA, UoK commands a competitive position in the market. We as the Faculty of Commerce and Management (FCMS) are featured with well-disciplined academic culture and professionalism. The Kelaniya MBA is a brand that promises and delivers the needful exposure and culture to transform corporate sector practitioners as leaders to steer the industry. In brief, Kelaniya MBA is featured by the excellences of knowledge content, blended teaching strategy, skill-based exposure and 100% execution of the study plan as we proved in many years. It has marked an international recognition for the program. We have introduced Kelaniya MBA to foreign countries including Bangladesh and yet to penetrate another two countries soon.
This is how Kelaniya MBA stands as reputed brand in the country and offshore markets.
Q Do you think MBA as a must for professionals in the modern business environment?
A. Well, this has to be a logical choice. You need to decide the relevant educational and professional knowledge requirements to be obtained at the right phase in your career life. The power knowledge and professionalism could create a value proposition for a practitioner. Thus, my view is MBA is a must but it requires someone to select the accurate program from a recognised place.
Doing MBA is not a passion but a choice you need to decide based on your career plan. It requires a perfect readiness of experience and exposure to absorb the absolute value of an MBA. I do strongly believe Kelaniya MBA provides avenues to unveil one’s career potential via its well-designed knowledge content and professional exposure.
Q There are many MBAs available in Sri Lanka. Why somebody should rely on the MBA offered by the University of Kelaniya as a wise decision?
A. Let’s look at this matter constructively. No matter whether it is state or private university, but the utmost fact is the quality and the recognition maintained by the relevant institute or university that offers any educational qualification. In fact, state universities including University of Kelaniya are responsible to offer quality education with a professional process. Obtaining an MBA is totally different to earn an MBA with an impact. What I emphasize is institutes including state universities should adhere to quality of the teaching and assessments including a comprehensive research exposure if it needs to offer a genuine MBA that enables recipients to be equipped with absolute learning outcomes and professional impact. There are many MBAs seem just stand for a mere qualification due to very primitive assessments methods and the program contents. Thus, you should be wise enough to invest for an MBA to obtain the recognized qualification with an absolute impact to your life rather earning a mere title of MBA.
The University of Kelaniya, particularly Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies has recognized the demand emerged in the industry for high quality and recognized MBAs. I am confident to say that our teaching faculty and the innovative facilities ensure its MBA learning partners to obtain one of the sought after MBA qualifications in Sri Lanka. We commit to facilitate our students to earn the MBA not as a title but as a comprehensive learning experience. The well-qualified teaching faculty, ICT enabled delivery strategy, wellequipped learning atmosphere and the professional culture nourish the competitive edge of Kelaniya MBA. The learning partners of Kelaniya MBA are fully convinced to plan the future since it follows standardized schedule and timelines rather dragging for extra months. We have proved 100% commitment on scheduled plan even during the Covid-19 pandemic situation assisted by blended teaching strategy. Thus, I would say Kelaniya MBA is a well-assured program in terms of quality, recognition, innovativeness and punctuality.
Q As the coordinator of Kelaniya MBA program, how do you emphasis the value-added feature of the programme?
A. “Kelaniya MBA is a brand featured by its value propositions of professionalism, academic discipline, modern knowledge exposure and punctuality. We always encourage potential learning partners to select the Kelaniya MBA provided they are determined with right attitude and confidence to acclimate to a professional culture. What I believe is MBA has to train students to transform their caliber to become value-added professionals in their career.
Kelaniya MBA is fully focused on the customer-driven policies. Our students are the most valuable customers and we have modeled the program as per their expectations. This program has been scheduled as a weekend program but limiting only for 5 days per month considering the notion of work life balance. Program is attributed with a comprehensive foreign study tour including factory visits and foreign university experiences. The research component is in line with the Sri Lanka Quality Framework (SLQF) carrying 15 credits. Kelaniya MBA incudes a comprehensive basket of curse works to produce a holistic MBA graduate. Currently academia, professionals, executives and entrepreneurs read Kelaniya MBA due to its innovative course contents and the comprehensive research component. The course units of the program are set with well-defined learning outcomes whereas industry experts have recognized them as needful insights for corporate sector applications. The main stream of the program is the General MBA, but anyone can select specialized course works in the streams namely Marketing, HRM, Entrepreneurship, Accounting & Finance and Business Technology to get specialized exposures if required.
We always encourage executive learning exposure as the core of the teaching. Students are supposed to be in a comprehensive learning experience. It is a kind of learning stimulation rather a traditional taught program. Students are assessed on continuous assignments and projects encouraging them to be hands- on. Delivering and assessing students with practical reality is the passion of our teaching faculty.
For instance, many course units of the program include components of skills development projects, outbound training programs (OBT) , business stimulation projects and executive workshops to add values to learning partners. This is how we produce a professional MBA graduates embedded with required exposure and leadership personality. I am glad to proclaim that Kelaniya MBA graduates lead many local and offshore corporates as evidential brand ambassadors.
Q Can you share some thoughts about the foreign study tour organized by Kelaniya MBA program?
A. Well, it satisfies few expectations of students who peruse Kelaniya MBA. We usually organize the foreign study tour with two main purposes. One segment is to provide foreign university experience with some timely important talk series. The next is the industry or factory visits to globally recognized corporates. The recently held foreign study tour had four factor visits in Vietnam including Toyota and Samsung factories. We had such industry visits to different countries in the past tenure including India, Thailand, Malaysia and China. So, Kelaniya MBA provides international exposure and industrial learning insights via its comprehensive foreign study tour.
Q How does Kelaniya University MBA commit to its graduates for contin uous professional development opportunities?
A. Kelaniya MBA is blessed by a well – established alumni association. The alumina provides its members some valuable opportunities to share new business thoughts in different forums. It organizes timely needed national events for corporate sector to create dialogue sad dressing to new business dynamics. In addition, Faculty of Commerce& Management Studies ( FCMS) and the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) maintain continuous communications encouraging MBA alumni members to read for doctoral studies like PhDs and DBAs. Likewise, Kelaniya MBA graduates are directed for continuous professional development via MBA Alumni. In overall, University of Kelaniya facilities different networking forums to those members whilst bridging them to university undergraduate programs as visiting faculty. We strongly believe alumni as a salient feature of the reputation of any university. Thus, Kelaniya MBA also maintains strategic networks with its alumni association whilst assisting them for continuous professional development avenues.
Q What is your overall message to any potential candidates interested on Kelaniya MBA?
A. The essence of the Kelaniya MBA is “Shaping Future Leaders”. We are a fully committed faculty to facilitate you to earn the MBA from University of Kelaniya provided you embed with the passion and self- deter minat i o n . Alongside, we invite potential candidates to apply for the program with the right attitudes rather just adding a mere qualification to personal profile. Thus, Kelaniya MBA extends an invitation to corporate sector executives, academia and entrepreneurs to experience a branded and recognized MBA that guarantees a competitive edge to professional career.
The intake of Kelaniya MBA for the year 2020 is in progress and interested parties can apply on or before 06th of August, 2020. For further information contact MBA Office via TP 0115752389/ 0112903512 or email mba@kln.ac.lk.
Dr. Ravi Dissanayake
Senior Lecturer Head: Department of Marketing
Management Coordinator: MBA Program