Japura Masters’ Alumni Association debuts

The Japura Masters’ Alumni Association (JMAA) of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura was officially inaugurated recently. 

The inaugural general meeting of the Masters’ Alumni Association of Sri Jayewardenepura University was held on 12 February at the new boardroom of the university premises with the participation of patrons and over 140 alumni.

Prof. Aruna S. Gamage, the MBA program coordinator, initiated the formation since it is critical to an institution’s success to build an engaged, supportive alumni network. 

“Graduates’ understanding of the university will get stale if communication stops once they leave the institution. Instead, they should be constantly updated so that they may remain interested and informed about the university’s progress. Both the university and the alumni benefit from strong alumni relationships,” Prof. Gamage said. 

He said that the alumni will certainly bring value to both its members and the program while positively contributing to the career prospects of USJ MBA/M.Sc. graduates and undergraduates. 

In addition, founder President Ian Iddamalgoda declared that the alumni intend to provide the opportunity for Masters’ graduates to enhance their career development while encouraging members to foster and build up a strong network with each other. This would assist them in working together for mutual benefit. He emphasised that another very important benefit of closely-knit alumni affiliations is that experts belonging to different fields of business, etc., come together in one place. This can help the alumni with collaborative efforts that will bear fruit for all the parties. The future events based on these values are planned and will be executed in the near future.

The newly appointed JMAA comprises of President Ian Iddamalgoda, General Secretary Jeevani Bogahawatte, Vice President (Membership) Peshala Hettiarachchi, Vice President (Events and Education) Rukshanie Vidyaratne, Vice President (Marketing and Public Relations) Nirmal Wijesinghe, Treasurer Dr. J.W. Dushan Chaminda, Assistant Treasurer Sanjaya Perera, and Assistant Secretary Ramindu Liyanage. 

Executive Committee Members are Damith Weerasinghe, Ishara Katuwandeniya, Uditha Samaratunga, Thilini Jayasuriya, Nirmana Rathnayake, Aishani Anushika Edirisinghe, Kaveesha Silva, Chathurika Gunawardena, Chinthaka Perera, Sherman Welivita, Student Representative (2019 Batch) Nalaka Rajapaksha, Student Representative (2019 Batch) Kapila Wijayarathna, Student Representative (2020 Batch) Zamaan Deen, Student Representative (2020 Batch) Nusaike Mufthie AG, Student Representative (2021 Batch) Ayesha Niharepola, and Student Representative (2021 Batch) Sandakelum Edirimanna.