Mobitel powers 6th annual Sri Lanka Model United Nations
Saturday, 7 September 2013 00:01
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The national mobile service provider Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel recently collaborated with the future leaders of Sri Lanka and the region by supporting the Sri Lanka Model United Nations 2013 (SLMUN) conference as its official telecommunications partner.
Conference delegates experienced superior connectivity on Mobitel’s 4G broadband while being exposed to Mobitel’s mLearning technology, which allows students and lecturers to connect to live, real-time virtual classrooms from anywhere in the world, where they can participate in lectures as they would in normal classrooms. All aspects of the learning classrooms are 100% interactive and all the sessions can also be recorded for students to review later on while studying for examinations.
Nalin Perera, SGM – Marketing of Mobitel, speaking at the event, said: “We developed the mLearning platform to act as an interactive mode of learning for students which allows them to follow their school curriculum wherever they are saving both time and money. I’m pleased to see the participation at the SLMUN conference which Mobitel has been able to provide the best technology to uplift the ICT standards of the country.
“The participants, most of them immediate school-leavers, were excited to experience the features of mLearning, which advances their capacity to display their talent to international counterparts. It was indeed a pleasure for us to witness the enthusiasm among these future leaders at this rare opportunity, to experience world-class technology at the fastest available 4G broadband speeds. We hope their experience with Mobitel products serves them well in the future.”
Noting the impact of the mLearning system which was used to simulate a crisis situation during the conference, Hisham Samsudeen, the Under-Secretary General of IT and Technical Affairs of SLMUN 2013, said: “On behalf of my team, I thank Mobitel for coming onboard as the official telecommunication partner for this event.
“We received tremendous support from a team of dedicated staff of Mobitel whom not only ensured our conference was completely covered with internet connectivity including several wired 4G points with extremely quick paced internet but also taking the conference as a whole to the next level with technological expertise of mLearning system. For the past two years, our topic for discussion has been a prevailing crisis situation in the community.”
He added: “In the past, the President of the Crisis Committee and the Secretary General would walk into each and every committee meeting and brief the teams in person. This year, thanks to the mLearning system, we were able to brief the module and interact with other committees from one location, giving all members a real-time experience of the topic discussed. Mobitel not only provided the system but also trained us the nuances of the system which has made our committee meetings more convenient.
“Being able to interact with other committee members around the world all at the same time was a remarkable experience. It was one of those moments which most of us truly remember as taking a technological step to the future and also a moment where we were proud to show the international delegations our expertise and indeed were proud Sri Lankans.”
Kemiya Kodituwakke, the Secretary General of SLMUN 2013, stated: “SLMUN 2013 will go down in the history books as the first model UN program in the world to have used such a system. I felt proud to be a Sri Lankan when we spoke to the commission on science and technology over the mLearning system for the first time about the crisis situation. I appreciate the commitment shown by Mobitel in supporting our diplomatic ventures with innovative concepts of technology.”
The Sri Lanka Model United Nations is a completely student run organisation. The 2013 event currently holds the title of South Asia’s largest conference with over 1,000 students taking part from Sri Lanka as well as neighbouring countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The presence of international delegates made the conference an ideal platform to showcase Sri Lanka’s future readiness in world-class ICT technologies.
