Results-driven MBA from IIHE

The field of higher education in Sri Lanka is today very competitive and cluttered; in a pursuit to obtain qualifications fast, students can often make the mistake of picking a higher education institution without finding out more about the institution and the foreign universities it represents. The result is a qualification which will not enable the aspirations intended to be achieved.

Since the national universities can only absorb around 25,000 students from over 140,000 who qualify for higher education every year, the market for reliable and globally acceptable higher education qualifications is high.

At the same time, students who do not do their ‘homework’ on the institutions and degrees available from established foreign universities, here in Sri Lanka, run the risk of being duped by less-than-valuable qualifications marketed by profit-maximising companies.

Whether it is a graduate or a post graduate qualification, today’s students must be able to discern the genuine degrees from those that do not live up to the expectations, said Oxela Fernando, who is studying for her BSc at the Imperial Institute of Higher Education (IIHE).

A past pupil of Asian International School, Oxela said that she selected IIHE as it was one such institution that, for the last 15 years, had been directly associated with the University of Wales (UOW), recognised globally as a prestigious university in the UK. IIHE has consistently been recognised by employers for the world-class education it offers at its campus located at Tower Building, Station Road, Bambalapitiya.

Oxela further said that one of the initial steps a student could take was to evaluate the relationship the local institution maintains with the parent university: “It is vital to examine whether the relationship is legal and if the local institute conforms to the academic standards required by the parent university and to find out if the parent university conducts periodic and continuous review.”

Oxela and other students stress on the panel of lecturers who conduct the classes as vital to ensuring that the degree meets global standards. “Hands-on assignments, real life case studies using local examples are important criteria that build confidence and enable the students to acquire knowledge through participation,” she added.

In addition to the BSc degrees, IIHE also offers MBAs from the University of Wales, which essentially empower managers with expertise required for strategic level decision making.

“IIHE’s authentic post graduate qualification from Britain combines excellent learning processes with case studies based on local and global scenarios to provide experiential learning,” said Ray Abeywardena, CEO of Acquity Partners. “It equips me, as a CEO, to be able to successfully combine theory with a practical approach and apply it strategically to everything I do.”

Aimed at turning specialists into empowered generalists, a world-class MBA includes a compulsory dissertation that seeks to upgrade the candidate to strategic management level. The dissertation plays a vital role in harnessing the knowledge learnt, he adds.

The MBA at IIHE awarded by the University of Wales offers the flexibility which is important to ensure that the studies can fit in with existing work schedules. The shortest period to complete the MBA at IIHE is 18 months.

Students said that IIHE provides a programme which is globally recognised by ensuring that the standards enforced by the University of Wales are maintained. They added that a team from the University of Wales visit IIHE twice a year to ensure that systems, protocols and teaching and learning methods are maintained to assure UK and global standards.

Now in its 15th year of operations, IIHE stands as the only local institution offering legally valid degrees directly from the University of Wales. IIHE is currently enrolling students for its graduate and post graduate studies.