Apparel entrepreneur Dian Gomes opens business school in Colombo
Renowned apparel expert Dian Gomes has established a business school in Colombo with the patronage of corporate leaders to promote leadership in the private and public sectors.
The Colombo School of Business Management (CSBM) was established on March 4 at Ward Place with the aim of ensuring that graduates will be suitably qualified to enter the “brutal corporate world,” CSBM Chairman Dian Gomes said in an interview with the Business Times on the sidelines of the official opening of the business school.
He noted that the business school has signed up with 25 corporate institutions in the country and will ensure that students will be provided with the right skills to join the workforce.
Mr. Gomes explained that today most graduates passing out of the local universities were not adequately qualified even to attend an interview and lacked the required commitment to work together with others.
In this respect, he pointed out the corporate sector requires persons who have the right skills and it is to bridge this gap that the CSBM has been established.
The business school states that it will offer a number of academic and professional programmes from foundation to academically rigorous and highly crafted programmes for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies. Headed by Prof. Ranjith Bandara as the School Head the institution is affiliated and partnering with global institutions to provide programmes with international accreditation.
The institution provides a foundation course and has a wide scope in various sectors with a focus on Business Strategy, Marketing Management, Human Resources Management, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Health and Social Care Management, Health and Well-being, Sports and Recreations, Horticulture and Landscaping, Psychology and Counseling, Optometry and Visual Science, Interior Architecture, Fashion and Textile, Productivity and Lean Management, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, English Language Teaching and Business Communication.
Programmes range from academic foundation courses to doctoral studies, customized seminars, open enrolment workshops and seminars, consultancy, research, events and functions and customised learning interventions to meet specific corporate needs. The business school’s advisory council comprises business personalities like Kishu Gomes, W.K.H. Wegapitiya, C.J. Wickramasinghe and Rowan Keragala among others. In addition academic personalities like Prof. W.D. Lakshman heads the advisory council and the Board of Study comprises full time faculty member Department of Accounting Jayawardepura University Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, researcher Dr. Ruwan Jayathilaka, Hayleys Advantis Finance Director Ms. Sriyamal Gamage and DSI Head of Marketing, Sales and Corporate Communication Rohan Somawansa among others.