4 undergraduates to represent SL at HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition in Hong Kong

The winners with CEO HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives and the Dean, FMF University of Colombo

They’re bright, confident and brimming over with enthusiasm for what awaits them in Hong Kong. The four final-year undergraduates, Kanchana Kodikara, Ni r o s h i A n t o i n e t t e Perera, Chamali Gamage and Ruvini Perera, who scored top marks at the UOCFMF/HSBC S r i Lanka Business Case Analysis Competition 2 0 1 6 , w i l l re pre s e n t Sri Lanka at the grand finale of the HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition.

HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives CEO Patrick G a l l agher met them recently to wish them well with the finals. The team will be competing against 23 other teams f rom 18 countries at the grand finale due to be held 1-3 June. Dr. R. Senathiraja, the Dean of Faculty of Management and Finance University of Colombo and the lecturer- in-charge Thilini Alahakoon were also present to mark the occasion. Addressing the winners Gallagher commented, “We involve ourselves with a lot of educational activities around the country, at different levels – from teaching English to little children, to providing more entrepreneurial and strategic educational support to older age groups. We see a lot of great ideas around. It’s bringing them to life where a lot of work needs to be done and that ’s where corporates like HSBC come in.”

He went on to elaborate, “We’re seeing seeds of growth in the business world, with institutions like IMF coming in to assist us. Hopefully, by the time you return from Hong Kong and complete your degree programme, the environment in Sri Lanka will be a far more favourable one for you to embark on a career.” Speaking of the opportunity presented to her students, Dr. R. Senathiraja said, “As an institution we strive to understand what the society needs and develop leaders and managers that best fit those requirements. We provide knowledge based on the discipline, but the skills which are essential for their grooming and confidence to be competitive in the real world can only be achieved with practical opportunities like this provided by HSBC.”

T h e HS B C As i a Pacific Business Case Competition sponsored by HSBC and organised by Asia Case Research Centre (ACRC), is a community investment in the area of education, aiming to promote business learning and crosscultural exchange among top students in the region. Sponsored by HSBC Sri Lanka, the University of Colombo – Faculty of Management and Finance (UOCFMF), organised the UOCFMF/HSBC Sri Lanka Business Case Analysis Competition in March this year to select a team for the final competition which will be held at the iconic HSBC head office premises in Hong Kong.

“All of us like to think of ourselves as outgoing individuals who want to take advantage of opportunities to better ourselves and to expand our horizons and the HSBC Business Case Competition helped us do just that,” commented one of the students. The competition is designed to provide participants the rare opportunity to display business related skills and give them a chance to apply subject matter to practical scenarios whilst testing the ability of applying business knowledge, analytical skills, critical thinking and impromptu presentation skills. The students had to go through preliminary rounds as well as a final round where they were required to analyse a case, identify key issues and provide practical recommendations within a limited time frame relying solely on their thinking and creativity.The three‐day event will bring together top students from 24 universities in 19 locations, with more than 60 international senior business executives contributing their expertise in the capacity of judges at the competition. This is the first year universities outside the Asia Pacific region will be participating, making it a truly international event.