Conference to empower academics on modern chemical know-how

A conference on New direction in teaching, learning and evaluation of chemical sciences at tertiary level will be held at the Taj Samudra Hotel on March 11 and 12.

This event is sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Royal Society of Chemistry (London) and University Grants Commission (UGC).

The conference is organised by Department of Chemistry, Kelaniya University in collaboration with Chemical Sciences Section (E-2) of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) and Royal Society for Chemistry (SL branch).

The science education in Sri Lanka has faced a serious problem in the recent years. Higher education is available only for about 6% of the applicants each year. Yet science graduate's unemployment rate is as high as 50%.

One of the major reasons for this has been identified as the poor quality of graduates lacking relevant skills such as innovativeness, intellectual skills, independent working ability and decision-making ability.

The conference's objective is to help replace the currently practising knowledge based education in Chemical Sciences in Universities with modern methods by empowering academics with relevant knowledge and skills.

Regrettably, there has been no opportunity for university academics to educate or improve themselves on novel teaching methods. The focus will be on novel teaching, learning and evaluation methods with an emphasis on curriculum development, new assessment methods and evaluation tools.

Four foreign experts in Chemical Science, including the eminent chemist, Professor P.W. Atkins will educate the local contingency. The conference will take the form of plenary lectures followed by small group discussions.

A document covering the essence of lectures and discussions at the conference will be prepared to be used as guidelines in the future.

It is expected that state universities will be able to produce higher quality science graduates who can fulfill the needs of the developing Chemical Industry and the service sectors in the country in a more efficient and effective manner.

This will ultimately have an impact on the country's economy. These graduates will also compete better in job situations with those qualified from other sources.