Ultimate endorsement of corporate leadership: University of Kelaniya launches country’s first Doctor

Thursday, 28 July 2016 11:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Untitled-4 Untitled-5 The Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies (FCMS), University of Kelaniya had made a milestone in the Sri Lankan higher education sector by introducing the first ever Doctor of Business Administration programme (DBA) by a national university in Sri Lanka. The inauguration ceremony of the DBA programme was held on 22 July at The Kingsbury with the participation of the Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Sunanda Madduma Bandara as the Chief Guest and Dr. Rohan Fernando, Director and Head of Plantations and Business Development at Aitken Spence PLC, as the Guest of Honour and Key Note Speaker. Dr. Ajith Medis, Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing Management, in his introductory speech stated that the DBA is a ‘professional doctorate’ with a focus on business practice with the deep understanding of related theoretical underpinnings.

The coordinator of the programme, Dr. R.A.S. Weerasiri – Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing Management stated that the DBA is ideal for executives, business practitioners and academics who wish to be leaders in competitiveness, growth, development and institutional alignment in the global environment. According to Prof. D. M. Semasinghe, Dean, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, DBA is aimed for the people who are already successful in business and envision for a new intellectual challenge. The DBA is the highest level of qualification can be offered by an academic body and it’s placed at the Level 12 of the Sri Lanka Qualification Framework (SLQF). This level of a qualification is designed to equip professionals with practical, specialised knowledge which is critical in making high-level business and enhancing the knowledge frontier This event was graced by many eminent personalities including Prof.

Ariyarathna Jayamaha, Dean – Faculty of Graduate Studies, Prof. A. H. M. H. Abayarathna - Dean- Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr. P.G. Wijayarathna, Dean – Faculty of Computing and Technology, Former Deans of Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies , Senior Academics of the Faculty and the students of the DBA first batch.