Advanced Level to Corporate Leader? Join IIHE BSc (Hons) Management Degree
View(s):The labour market in Sri Lanka, especially the private sector employers, demand well-qualified degree holders with good language competencies and interpersonal skills in addition to subject knowledge. The graduates from local universities generally have the knowledge but perhaps lack the soft skills required by the private sector. Therefore, the Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE) has stepped into fill this vacuum with high quality degree holders who can be employed immediately without basic training.
The Degree Certificate awarded by the University of Wales (UOW) is well accepted and globally recognized. BSc (Hons) Business Management degree programme at IIHE, which is an internal degree of the UOW and monitored by the UOW from admission to graduation, has been designed in such a way to cater to students who wish to specialize as well as those who wish to obtain a general degree. Students are permitted to specialize in the areas of Marketing, Finance or Human Resource Management. Selection of relevant electives in the final year 3 determines the specialism. On the other hand if a student wishes to be a generalist he/she can choose electives from all these specialisms.
The following testimonials given by satisfied parents, amply demonstrate the quality and the standard of the BSc (Hons)Management Degree at IIHE.
Mrs. Florina Morais, mother of Dilani & Nilani Morais who studied for Edexcel Advanced Level examination at Belvoir College, said “I’m really satisfied today as students at IIHE, are able to fine tune and develop soft skills ; they are also able to become confident youngsters who can perform tasks on their own and are able to build confidence”.
“We as parents believe it is as good as sending our children abroad for higher education – you get a world class qualification right here in Sri Lanka while also ensuring that global standards are maintained in both the quality of education and the culture of confidence building at the campus” said Mrs. Morias.
Mr. Piyal Balasuriya an Ex-Banker said his son Kushan, after sitting for his Advanced Level examination at Royal College, joined IIHE in November 2010 to commence the Management Degree from Wales pending A/L results. “Today he is in the final year focusing on his last two semesters”. He further said “the quality of the programme is very good and I’m satisfied with the progress he has made so far”.
Mr. S. Henatigalla, an Entrepreneur said, “my daughter, April Heenatigalla, after completing her Cambridge A/Ls at Lyceum International, joined IIHE to read for the BSc (Hons) Business Management Degree in September 2009. Last year November she graduated with a First Class and in fact she was the Gold Medalist”. Mr. Heenatigalla said, IIHE Management Degree is “probably’ the best degree programme in Sri Lanka as it is globally recognized and well structured”.
The BSc (Hons) Management degree from Wales is structured and delivered to provide the students with a firm foundation (disciplinary base) in business administration, and a broad understanding of the functional areas of Business and Management, the environment in which these operate, and of the emerging arenas. As a result, upon graduation, our students will be capable of moving into the world of work both locally and globally, where they can add value and contribute positively as managers and leaders.
Year one is used to lay the foundation while progressively in years two and three the emphasis shifts from basic lectures to more advanced and specific lectures. Guided reading, learner-centred resource-based activities such as, case studies, problem-solving workshops are used for coaching the students to enable them to take responsibility for their learning. All modules are vertically integrated which provide the required width, breadth and the depth of the subject knowledge year on year basis. This is in addition to the classroom sessions.
IIHE empowers the students through another module called Real Life Problem Solving (RLPS). In this subject the student will have to solve a real life problem given by a corporate or a multi national company. Being an assessed module, this provides practical exposure to the student not only to gain experience in solving market problems / issues using their theoretical knowledge, but also to think ‘out of the box’ perspective when facing genuine market problems. The students are expected to submit a Management Report to the Senior Management of the relevant company and also make a presentation. The module is jointly assessed by the company management and IIHE examiners. This learning process amply demonstrates the quality, standard, and the knowledge students gain while at IIHE / UOW and also the level of congruence to the Corporate world.
The culmination is a dissertation that provides a special opportunity for independent learning and for demonstrating deep understanding of the theories and concepts learnt, through the application of theoretical knowledge to a real-world problem from business and industry. Before undertaking the dissertation, students are required to study the Research Methodology module which provides knowledge and skills as to how to find solutions to genuine managerial problems using the scientific method. The research (dissertation) topics can address any area of Business, from Business environment problems to those of internal organizational issues. Recent research undertaken have addressed Management, Marketing, Financial, Operational, Economic, Ethics & CSR issues. IIHE in the near future hopes to publish such research for the benefit of the society. The dissertation which accounts for 40 credits compared with 10 credits for taught subject module accentuates the importance attached to application of knowledge in solving management problems.
Even if a programme of study is well designed, such a programme cannot be effective if the knowledge and skills are not transferred properly to the students. Here again IIHE, takes great pride in having an “elite faculty” approved by the University of Wales. Panel of lecturers who are responsible for imparting knowledge, consists of lecturers with Doctorates, double Masters, Masters along with other professional qualifications. Most of the faculty members are not only academically qualified, but also have industrial exposure and experience. They are trained to deliver the knowledge and skills to the standards of the University of Wales.
While focusing on all these aspects, IIHE students also enjoy their young age by organizing various sports and events such as Cricket Tournaments, softball 6-a-side cricket matches, Beach Rugby, Movie Nights, Avurudhu Ulela, Deevali Festival etc. IIHE students have also organized a Triangular Cricket Tournament (leather ball) with two other competitor institutes. This tournament will take place during latter part of June 2013. In students’ language IIHE is a “happening’ place.
Finally, it’s pertinent to mention that, as in the past, majority of the students who graduate from the UOW, do find employment within a short period in leading Banks, Multinational companies and leading corporate conglomerates operating in Sri Lanka. This proves that the Corporate world accepts our graduates. Not only that in certain instances, Corporate giants do visit our state of the art campus premises to conduct interviews and ‘grab’ our graduates. This signifies the high caliber, superiority and market acceptance for the BSc (Hons) degree in Management of the University of Wales offered at the Imperial Institute of Higher Education.
| We as parents believe it is as good as sending our children abroad for higher education – you get a world class qualification right here in Sri Lanka while also ensuring that global standards are maintained in both the quality of education and the culture of confidence building at the campus |
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus