SLIM holds Graduation Ceremony 2013 in grand style

Monday, 2 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Graduation Ceremony 2013 of Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) was held on a grand scale on 22 November at Waters Edge Battaramulla, with certificates being awarded to students who completed graduate and postgraduate level qualifications. Students who successfully completed the exams for National Diploma in Sales Management, Diploma in Brand Management, Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (SL), Certified Professional Marketer (Asia) and Master of Business Administration (UK), received their certificates at the ceremony while the status of Practicing Marketer (SL) and Fellow Member were awarded to selected members of the marketing fraternity. Top students recognised

The National Diploma in Sales Management, designed for sales career minded people already in the sales, marketing or business development force, produced 57 graduates with V.S. Bulathsinhala being recognised as the best student. Of the 57 graduates, 33 were from November 2012 batch while the other 24 were from June 2013 batch. The Diploma in Brand Management, a 12 month part-time program designed to give students brand marketing competencies from multiple dimensions, produced 28 graduates from April 2013 batch with the best student being S.P.M.P. Senanayake.

P.A.A.D. Gunathilaka was recognised as the best student of the Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, a 24 month part-time program which gives students’ marketing competencies from operational level to synthesis level. The December 2012 batch of the Diploma included 62 graduates while the June 2013 batch included 61 graduates. The best student in the Master of Business Administration program provided by Buckinghamshire New University (UK) was E.A.N. Hemali and the course produced 54 graduates in total. Thereafter, 43 graduates were awarded the status of Certified Professional Marketer (Asia), a prestigious professional status conferred by the Asia Marketing Federation (AMF), which consists of 12 Asian countries in the region. Continuous professional development recognised Fourteen marketers were awarded the SLIM Practicing Marketer status, which recognises the continuous professional development of marketers who strive to be abreast of the market. This was followed by Saliya Weerasekara, Managing Director of Ants Work and Thushara Perera, Group Director of Sales and Marketing, Derana being selected as two Fellow Members for their outstanding contribution towards the marketing fraternity. The Chief Guest of the event was Dr. W K Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo. Prof. Derek Godfrey, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University (UK) attended as the Guest of Honour and all top officials of SLIM were also present. Graduates congratulated “As the national institute of Marketing, SLIM has been at the forefront of professional marketing education for the past 43 years. I congratulate the graduates and the best students and wish them all success in their careers,” said Gamika De Silva, President of SLIM. “Marketing is a management function which is crucial for the success of a company or brand. Successful organisations contribute to the growth of the economy and society and therefore marketing is important to the national development process,” said W.K. Hirimburegama. “All students who graduated today should be proud of their achievements as they are now prepared to embark on a successful career in marketing with the knowledge and education gained at SLIM,” noted Sanath Senanayake – CEO/Executive Director – SLIM. The Graduation Ceremony is the most important academic event of the Institute and is organised annually to award certificates to students who successfully complete their education at SLIM. The special sponsors for the best students this year were Micromax and Metropolitan. The ceremony was followed by the annual ‘SLIM Ball’ with the theme ‘Glow in The Dark,’ which provided an opportunity for graduates to celebrate each other’s success.