PIMA developing managers for the future to celebrate silver award ceremony

Postgraduate Institute of Management Alumni (PIMA) in 1997 introduced a new activity ‘Youth Leadership for the 21st Century,’ a seminar for the head and the deputy head prefects of public and private schools, starting from the Colombo District.

The seminar started with the oath of leadership and a brief introduction to the management theories, importance of communications and an introduction to 5-S system for the first time to Sri Lankan schools and ending with the famous ‘sinking boat’ management game.

The participants showed an immense interest and keenness in this program. This also exposed the PIMA to the fact that there is a ‘vacuum’ of such programs available for the young managers in the private and public sector at that time.

In 2000 the institute launched a management training program for the junior managers and executives in the public and private sectors, initiated to design and propose a suitable program and subsequently the program titling ‘developing managers for the future’ was conducted at the PIM.

Eminent resource persons involved in this inaugural program included lecturers from the PIM Faculty and from the corporate sector, of which most of them were from our Alumni.

The venue was later moved to the Plastics and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka Headquarters at Rajagiriya. It must also be remembered that one special program was conducted for the plantation sector in the upcountry over weekends which was highly appreciated by the Regional Plantation Companies.

The demand for this program had increased with time and many reputed corporates requested special company specific programs for their organisations. In 2007 and 2008 three such programs of ‘Developing Managers for the Future’ were conducted for Sampath Bank and Sri Lanka Telecom with success.

PIMA has also achieved the uniqueness of the only alumnus in Sri Lanka that has been able to convert lecture room learning to practical action by conducting this program. The 25th Certificate award ceremony was held on 1 February 2013 at Hotel Galadari.