Dushan wins prestigious CIM Top Student Worldwide Award

Hard work, perseverance and passion for excellence are the prime ingredients for a success story, according to 24-year-old Dushan Kahandagamage, the recipient of the CIM Top Student Worldwide Award for the Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, June 2011 examinations of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK.

Asked why he chose CIM, Dushan said, “I chose CIM as my preferred choice of qualification mainly because it is a globally recognised and accepted qualification. CIM is a diverse qualification, which concentrates on other areas in addition to marketing, such as finance, corporate strategy, leadership and planning and risk management. When it comes to the learning experience, the CIM qualification has armed me with all the necessary knowledge and competencies I require to perform confidently and proficiently in my career.”

Dushan emphasised that the CIM Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing is a challenging, high-level two-part marketing qualification that entails excellent professional knowledge across many areas and a direction to obtaining the prestigious Chartered Marketer Status. He noted that being a CIM student has allowed him not only to gain academic knowledge, but it has also provided practical perspectives which made the study an interesting learning process that ensured knowledge retention.

He also gave advice to prospective students: “Anyone with the right education and commitment can excel in CIM as I have; all you need to do is to put your heart into it with much determination and passion.”

A former student of Ananda College, Colombo, Dushan was interested in pursuing a degree in marketing after his secondary education and chose the Next School of Business to follow the CIM qualification. He credited his lecturers at the Next School of Business, Dusty Alahakoon, Thusitha Abeysekara,

 Tharanga Gunasekara and Reyaz Jeffrey for enabling him to obtain exceptional results right throughout, including the prestigious Top Student Worldwide Award by providing the necessary guidance, knowledge and inspiration.

Dushan also did not fail to thank his family and friends who have given him constant support and valuable insight throughout his course of study and particularly to achieve this award. Dushan is currently employed as a Quality Assurance and Data Visualisation Specialist at Stax Inc., a global strategy-consulting firm with offices in Boston, Chicago, New York and Colombo, and aspires to become a much sought-after consultant in strategy development in the future.

Upon the announcement that a Sri Lankan student has been awarded the prestigious CIM Top Student Worldwide Award, the CIM Sri Lanka Region organised a felicitation ceremony for Dushan and awarded a cash prize in honour of the great recognition he has brought to Sri Lanka. He will receive both his Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing qualification and the award for CIM Top Student Worldwide at the 2012 CIM Annual Graduation Ceremony, which will be conducted later this year.

TheChartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region is the fastest growing CIM body in the world and serves over 3,000 student members and more than 1500 members. The qualification helps the members to elevate themselves in their professional careers. The Regional office assists the members by creating value and fostering excellence in Sri Lanka’s business landscape by harnessing marketing knowledge and building world-class competencies.