SLIIT nurtures school children at ‘Soft Skills+ 2021’

SLIIT Vice Chancellor Prof. Lalith Gamage addressing the students and teachers

Unilever Senior Brand Manager Munazza Rafeek

The SLIIT Business School (SBS) organised ‘Soft Skills+ 2021’ concluded on an extremely successful note recently helping students engage, cooperate and thrive in building their talents towards personal development and career progression.

SLIIT Soft Skills+ event is an annual flagship CSR Project of the SLIIT Business School organized with the primary objective of developing secondary school students’ soft skills in positive thinking, creativity, analytical thinking, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and teamwork.

Over the years, the program has garnered much popularity among schools and participants. Due to its tremendous success achieved in previous programs, Soft Skills+ 2021 followed an upgraded structure. For the first time in the Soft Skills+ program history, the event was held via online platforms, including a Soft Skills-based online quiz and an online workshop for students and teachers. 

During the Grand Finale, SLIIT Business School Dean Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda welcomed the participants and distinguished guests. SLIIT Vice Chancellor Prof. Lalith Gamage also addressed the gathering. Unilever PLC Senior Brand Manager Munazza Rafeek, a former SBS alumni, was the Chief Guest and delivered a thought-provoking speech. SLIIT Business School Senior Lecturer Dr. Nisha Jayasooriya concluded the event delivering the vote of thanks. 

Commenting on the conclusion of 2021 program Prof. Thelijjagoda said: “We are extremely pleased to have concluded Soft Skills+ 2021 on a successful note, especially since it was conducted via online platforms. The competitions encourage teams to come together to solve a problem or articulate an idea, challenge participants to combine disparate strengths and outlooks. Moreover, this program recreates the world of work and presents students with opportunities to nurture vital soft skills.”

The event comprised three rounds and during the Grand Finance the winners were presented their awards. In first place was Badulla Central College, Badulla, followed by St. Bridget’s Convent Colombo 7 in second place and Musaeus College, Colombo 7 was placed third. 

Winners of the Most Popular Category were first place Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala, second place Yasodara Devi Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Gampaha and third place Maliyadeva Boys’ College, Kurunegala. The winners were selected based on a quiz competition and a creative video activity. Certificates were awarded to the winners. Other attractive prizes including laptop, tabs, portable hard drives and pen drives, which are extremely helpful for students these days in their online and remote learning, were also presented.

Several valuable workshops and sessions inculcating vital skills were conducted for the participants prior to the Grand Finale. These were conducted by experienced and knowledgeable resource persons. 

The following workshops were organised by SBS:

An online workshop on ‘Interactive Online Teaching Methodologies’ designed which especially for school teachers was conducted in Sinhala and English mediums by SLIIT Faculty of Humanities and Sciences Dean andEduscope Ltd. Founder Dr. Malitha Wijesundara.

An online workshop on ‘Interactive Online Teaching Methodologies’ designed which especially for school teachers in the English and Tamil mediums was conducted by SLIIT Business School Associate Dean Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar and Faculty of Computing Lecturer Janani Tharmaseelan.

An online workshop on ‘How to be a Successful Online Learner’ specially designed for school students was presented by SLIIT Business School Department of Business Management Head Mano Weligodapola in Sinhala and English Mediums.  An online workshop on ‘How to be a Successful Online Learner’ specially designed for school students in the Tamil medium was presented by SLIIT Business School Associate Dean Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar.

An online workshop on ‘Innovative Leadership’ conducted by SLIIT Business School Dean Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda and Life Coach Dilum Perera and was held in Sinhala and English mediums. An online workshop on ‘Innovative Leadership’ conducted by SLIIT Business School Associate Dean Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar was held in Tamil and English mediums.  An online workshop on ‘Effective Teamwork’ was conducted by SLIIT Business School Department of Information Management Head Dr. Ruwan Jayathilake, held in Sinhala and English mediums. 

An online workshop on ‘Effective Teamwork’ conducted by SLIIT Business School Associate Dean Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar was held in Tamil and English mediums.