University of Colombo gears up for Alumni Organisation AGM and felicitation ceremony

Established in 1993 with a membership of just 20, the Alumni Organisation of the University of Colombo is proud to state that over 500 members belong to the organisation, including well-established professionals in various fields.

The upcoming felicitation of high achieving graduates i.e. ‘Abhinandana’ for their achievements  and ‘Guru Upahara’ for other imminent professionals who were at Colombo University is scheduled to take place on 15 September 2012 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute after the organisation’s AGM which begins at 8:30 a.m. on the same day.

The individuals to be felicitated (‘Guru Upahara’) are Prof. Priyani Zoysa, Prof. A.V.D.S. De Indrarathne, Prof. Hiran Dias, Prof. J.B. Dissanayake, Prof. W.G. Kularatne, Prof. H.D. Gunawardena and Prof. Shiromi Fernando and appreciated their own members who rose to highest positions in their respective fields, namely Mahinda Madihawewa – Senior Secretary to Senior Ministers Secretariat, S. Liyanagama – Secretary to the Senior Ministers’ Office, K.A. Thilakaratne – Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, Palitha Fernando – Attorney General, Thilak Karunaratne –  Managing Director, Multiform Chemicals Ltd., S.H.A.M. Abeyratne – Director General Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, K. Dharmasiri – General Manager Bank of Ceylon, and P. Indira S. Samarasinghe – Legal Draftsman.

The primary objective of the organisation is to enhance the standard of living and to create an environment conducive for studies among undergraduates by means of providing scholarships to the deserving with the blessing of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo. The project was commenced by making a monthly payment of Rs. 5,000 each for deserving undergraduates.

Developments plans of the organisation for the years 2012 include a plan to increase scholarships and the monthly pavement and to build a hostel for undergraduates who can’t afford to live in Colombo. However due to limited resources available in the fixed deposit account, the organisation is finding it difficult to continue this project without outside financial assistance.

The Executive Committee of the Organisation has decided to seek outside financial assistance by requesting corporate bodies, well wishers and senior graduates of the University of Colombo to contribute by way of donations to the scholarship and hostel project.

Donations can be made to the following People’s Bank savings account (Thimbirigasyaya Colombo 5): No. 2650717164. As for the hostel, the organisation is looking for donations of land of about 50 perches not farther than 30 km from Colombo.