J’pura Uni. Management Faculty International Conference on Business Management on 6 Dec.

By Lishanthi Wijewardene

The International Conference on Business Management – ICBM 2018, an annual research conference organised by the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce (FMSC), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, will be held for the 15th consecutive year on 6 December. 

University of Sri Jayawardenepura Vice Chancellor Senior Prof. Sampath Amaratunge

Port City Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Liang Thow Ming

Pirimal Glass Ceylon, Sri Lanka  CEO and Executive Director Sanjay Tiwari

Diesel and Motor Engineering Company MD A. R. Pandithage

Lanka Harness Co. Executive Chairman Rohan Pallewatte

Ministry of Finance National Agency of Private Public PartnershipChairman Thilan Wijesinghe

This year’s conference theme is ‘Sustainability Through Going Green: Opportunities and Challenges for Business’, a contemporary theme which focuses on the significant managerial concerns pertaining to academia and practitioners in corporate and public sector organisations. 

Speaking about the theme of the conference, ICBM 2018 Co-Chair Dr. Sudath M. Amarasena said: “Today, the world trend is that people like green products and businesses are talking about sustainability and being environment-friendly. Business people are trying to conduct their businesses without damaging the environment. A business is not only about making profits. If we are to exist, we are dependent on the environment and so we must protect it; not only for us but for future generations as well. With today’s style of living, we cannot eliminate pollution totally, yet we should try to minimise it.”

The objectives of this conference are to promote and publish relevant and current ideas on sustainability, the topical theme of going green and how these two could be interwoven to provide opportunities and challenges in the business environment. The broad spectrum of the topic will undoubtedly provide an interdisciplinary dais for a plethora of topics pertaining to both academia and business management professionals and practitioners to share and disseminate the latest knowledge, to enhance relationships and to build networks with each other. 

The FMSC’s role in the Sri Lankan higher education sector is not restricted to the undergraduate education; it is also committed to the continuous professional development and lifelong learning in the world of work. Therefore, in collaboration with the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the FMS Coffers a range of highly recognised postgraduate programs, including PhD, MBA, MPA and M.Sc. in Management. 

Further, the faculty conducts a number of external/part-time degree, diploma and certificate programs in management and commerce. In all spheres, the university’s work is closely linked to that of industrial, commercial and academic establishments locally, nationally and internationally. In this expanding environment, quality is the vital factor. 

Therefore, to foster a better relationship between the academia and the business world, the conference has included a business forum under the theme ‘Sri Lankan economy: The way forward – Achieving sustainability, with special emphasis on Chinese-Indian and domestic business perspectives’. It will feature both widely acclaimed academics and business leaders of the likes of Senior Professor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Vice Chancellor Sampath Amaratunga; Port City Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Liang Thow Ming; Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc Executive Director and CEO Sanjay Tiwari; DIMO Managing Director A.R. Pandithage; Lanka Harness Ltd. Executive Chairman Rohan Pallewatta and Ministry of Finance National Agency for Private Public Partnership Chairman Thilan Wijesinghe. The moderator will be Daily FT (Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.) Editor and Chief Executive Nisthar Cassim. 

The conference aims at providing a platform for researchers, educators, learners, academics, practitioners and policymakers, both in the local and international arena, to share knowledge among each other for the greater good of a global whole and to provide a link between the business community and academics in sharing knowledge and building relationships for the benefit of various stakeholders and wider society. 

The FMSC of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, which is the largest faculty in management studies and commerce in Sri Lanka, is committed to high-quality teaching and research, thus promoting an intellectually stimulating multidisciplinary environment for its students. This is reflected in its strategic intent of remaining as ‘The Centre of Excellence in Management Education in Sri Lanka and beyond’. 

The faculty is dedicated to equip undergraduates and postgraduates with contemporary theories and applications of management and related disciplines, to enhance their skills in critical thinking, research, analysis and communication and also to develop their personal qualities to meet the requirements of the ever-changing and complex nature of local and global challenges and to make them good citizens.

The Chief Guest at the conference, which is organised in collaboration with the Deakin University, will be Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy. The keynote speakers at this conference will be Prof. Mark Christensen from the ESSEC Business School of the Singapore Campus in Singapore and Associate Prof. Colin Higgins from the Faculty of Business and Law of Deakin University, Australia. 

The inauguration of the conference and the industrial forum will be held on 6 December, at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo, whilst the PhD consortium will be held on 5 December, at the university premises. 

The conference, which has been established under six tracks, has attracted a large number of high-quality research papers, including industry-based case studies. For more details log on to http//[email protected]/.