IPM delegates participate at 35th NHRC in Mumbai

Standing from left: Lakmini Rajapaksha, Jayanath Abeywardane, Sampath Prashan, Sumanadasa Gamage, Prasanna Liyanage, Rangana Rajapaksha, Nilmala Angulugaha Seated from left: Dr. Bhadra Arachchige, Ken Vijayakumar, Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri, Rohitha Amarapala, Wasanthi Vithanage

IPM Sri Lanka – the nation’s leader in human resources management – has sent a delegation of eight of its experienced members to ‘NATCON 2016’ India’s 35th National Human Resources Conference organised and hosted by the National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) India-Raigad Chapter held on 23-24 September at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre Auditorium in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

The IPM Sri Lanka delegates, led by Asst. Secretary and Council Member Wasanthi Vithanage participated as members of the bi-lateral exchange program inked between IPM Sri Lanka and NIPM, India. 

IPM also announced that its Immediate Past President Rohitha Amarapala was  invited to participate at the conference as one of the five resource persons and panellists representing the Asia Pacific region alongside other panellists and resource persons from the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), Singapore Human Resources Management Institute (SHRI), Bangladesh Society for Human Resource Management (BSHRM) and National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) India. He was invited to Chair the Technical Session on the topic ‘HR Beyond HR’ and share his views and insights with the participants.     

“This is a wonderful opportunity for IPM members to participate in India’s largest Human Resources Conference under the bi-lateral exchange program that has been negotiated between IPM Sri Lanka and NIPM, India. We are confident that our delegation will make the maximum use of this exchange program to make it a learning and networking experience so that the key take-aways could be implemented and/or practiced in a Sri Lankan context while sharing our experiences and ideas with our Indian counterparts. Furthermore, participation at this conference and exchange program is an ideal opportunity to build lasting networking relationships which are useful for continuous exchange of information and ideas for the betterment and upliftment of the human resources profession in both our countries as well as in the region,” said IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri.

The NIPM Annual National Conference is India’s largest Human Resources Conference, attracting HR and business professionals. The two-day event features world-class keynote speakers, informative sessions on ‘Powering Ahead – Strengthening Bonds of Business by Focusing HR’, wherein more than 900 HR Professionals from India and abroad are expected to participate at the Conference to update their knowledge on latest trends in the field of Human Resource Management and share their experience and views for mutual benefits. Renowned Speakers of the country and abroad as well as Chief Executives of various Organisations will address the conference.

“We are excited to participate at this year’s conference organised by NIPM India as it will be a learning experience, and will help to broaden our horizons in terms of the trending HR concepts and practices being rolled out in neighbouring India. It will also be an excellent opportunity for us to develop and expand our networks for mutual benefit,” said Wasanthi Vithanage – Asst. Secretary and Council Member, IPM Sri Lanka and Delegate Leader. 

“We will also be engaging in factory and office visits to various companies and manufacturing facilities in India to exchange ideas and understand HR practices, labour and personnel issues currently being experienced by our counterparts. This too will be an extremely valuable component in the exchange program,” she added.

The delegates of the exchange program will comprise of IPM Members Sumanadasa Gamage, Sampath Prashan, Rangana Rajapaksha, Jayanath Abeywardena, Lakmini Rajapaksha, Nilmala Angulugaha, Prasanna Liyanage and Dr. Bhadra Arachchige together with Wasanthi Vithanage. 

IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resources Management (APFHRM) and also to the World Federation of People Management Association (WFPMA). IPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) Sri Lanka. Currently IPM comprises of over 1,000 professional members who serve in both public and private organisations.