Setting up global universities’ campuses locally could stem ‘dollar drain’- ICBM Campus strategist

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

Sri Lanka should urgently look at inviting top global universities to Sri Lanka with the aim of encouraging them to set up their campuses here to prevent the ‘dollar drain’ that results from local students going for overseas education, said business partner, International Center of Business Management (Pvt) Limited (ICBM Campus) and its strategist Dr.Manjula Fernando.

“At present local parents spend over US$ 1 billion annually on their children’s educational expenses overseas but by setting up international universities’ campuses here these students can learn at home and save this huge forex export bill for Sri Lanka and get the same qualification, Fernando told The Island Financial Review.

Fernando added: ‘The current private educational institutes here should seek more affiliations with global universities. This way local students can complete half of their education in Sri Lanka by paying in local currency and then do the final part overseas. This way the country can save a sizeable portion of Forex.

‘ICMB, one of the leading tertiary educational institutions in Sri Lanka has also adopted this model and has already affiliated themselves to the University of Technology Cambodia (ICC). ICBM Campus is a partner Institute for IIC University of Technology, with Cambodia holding rights to deliver its Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programs for Sri Lankan students.

“The Cambodian ICC is globally recognized and also recognized by the UGC (University Grants Commission) Sri Lanka and hence the education programs that are done with ICBM and ICC have international recognition.I am also assisting start- ups in domain management and upgrades. I see tremendous business potential in these areas and I have a passion to share my experience and strategies free of charge to entrepreneurs to develop this segment to reach the next level in their businesses.

‘The ICBM Campus was established with one fundamental goal: to enable working professionals to secure a higher educational qualification while maintaining a fair balance of work and personal life. Their distant learning route, flexible class schedules and payment plans enable even the busiest of students an opportunity to pursue their higher education.ICBM offers Bachelor’s Degrees (Final Year Entry) (BBA in Management, B.Ed. in Education, BBA in Supply Chain Management, B.Com. in Banking & Finance), Master’s Degrees (Master of Business Administration-MBA) and Doctoral Studies (Doctor of Philosophy-PhD, Doctor of Business Administration-DBA).