Connecting untapped resources: Partnerships between academia and business

The Sri Lanka Economic Summit is scheduled to be held on 9, 10 and 11 July at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo. The fourth session titled ‘Connecting untapped resources’ will bring together the universities and the private sector for a comprehensive discussion on bridging the perceived gap between the private sector needs, and what the local Universities have to offer.

Following from the third session to increase competitiveness and productivity, the capacities in the universities to do research can be made more productive by encouraging the private sector to source the inputs of universities in their product/market research and direct the university staff and students to do research that is relevant to solving real life issues. Speakers from academia and private sector will present success stories of partnerships between academia and business spelling out ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for other corporates to follow suit.

The keynote speaker for this session is Dr. Gehan Amaratunga. He obtained his B.Sc from Cardiff University and Ph.D from Cambridge, both in electrical/electronic engineering. He has held the 1966 Professorship in Engineering at the University of Cambridge since 1998. He currently heads the Electronics, Power and Energy Conversion Group, one of four major research groups within the Electrical Engineering Division of the Cambridge Engineering Faculty. He is a founder of five technology start-up companies: CamSemi and Enecsys in the area of electronics which have attracted in excess of US$ 120 million in venture capital funding and have class leading commercial products in the market, Nanoinstruments in the area of nanotechnology which was acquired by Aixtron AG in 2007 and Windtechnologies and Camutronics which are at earlier stages of product development funded through inventors, angel investors and grants.

The keynote speech will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by University of Moratuwa Prof. Ajith De Alwis. The distinguished panel consists of Dialog Axiata PLC Group CEO Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Ministry of Finance Deputy  Secretary to the Treasury Dr. Suren Batagoda, University of Sri Jayawardenapura Senior Professor Prof. Ajit Abeysekera, Link Natural Products  (Pvt) Limited Chairman/MD Dr. Devapriya Nugewala, University of Moratuwa Department of Management of Technology Prof. Chandana Perera, University of Moratuwa Prof. Dileeka Dias and John Keells Group President – Consumer Food Sector Jit Gunaratne.

The Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2013 is the ultimate platform to gain a comprehensive understanding of the county’s economy, the investment climate and the diverse opportunities available for investors and businessmen.

For more information and registration on the Sri Lanka Economic Summit, please visit www.chamber.lk and contact the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on (+ 94) 11 5588805 or [email protected]