British School of Commerce:

New opportunities

Ishara Jayawardane

Over 2000 years ago the well-known Conqueror Julius Caesar took an interest in Great Britain during his Gallic conquests. Caesar’s curiosity was not unfounded. In the 21st Century, Britain is global. It has taken centre stage in Sri Lanka and many other Asian countries where education is concerned.

The British School of Commerce (BSC) is part of the London School of Commerce group. They have 6,000 to 7,000 students studying at their campus from all five continents and over 130 countries. “We have 4,000 students registered in the MBA program and it is the largest MBA program,” London School of Commerce CEO Timothy Andradi said at its launch.

The aim of the British School of Commerce is to help students achieve their goal of a superior level at an internationally recognized education that equips them with skills and business oriented thinking, critical to modern global commerce.

“Careers evolve. A firm foundation, understanding and critical awareness is the best starting point. That is what we hope to introduce,” Former Director of Education, British Council, Dr Neil Kemp said. British MP for Cities of London and West Minister Mark Field was of the view that this presented young Sri Lankans with opportunities.

He also said that he hoped that the establishment of the BSC in Colombo would also encourage and pave the way for other investors to start similar ventures in Sri Lanka.

Having been in the British Parliament for nearly 10 years, Mark Field has witnessed tumultuous years for Britain, Sri Lanka and the world at large.

He explained that there is a shift of power eastwards with the power moving towards Asia. “Global attention is focused on China and India and I think Sri Lanka is tremendously well placed to be a regional hub,” he further added.

The fundamental objective of the BSC is to be a leading higher education provider in Sri Lanka in keeping with the vision and mission of its parent institution the London School of Commerce. BSC aims to provide high quality undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs at an affordable cost to a large number of students in Sri Lanka as well as those of other countries in the South Asian Region.

BSC also envisages forging academic and research links between themselves and State universities and other similar institutions in Sri Lanka so that both parties could mutually benefit. One of the unique features of BSC is that its students can transfer to any of the sister campuses in London, Belgrade, Kuala Lumpur or Nairobi after completing a few semesters in Colombo.

“This, we believe, is an attractive incentive for students as no additional tuition fees would have to be paid in exploiting this opportunity.

Furthermore all the degree programs offered would have the possibility of lateral entry, enabling students with part qualifications in many professional courses of study such as CIMA, ICASL, ABE, CIM, BSC, ACS or CMA to pursue a degree,” Andradi stated.

Degree programs offered by BSC, awarded by the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff commencing this month.

*Master of Business Administration
*Master of Science in Information Technology
*Master of Science in International Hospitality Management
*Master of Science in International Tourism Management
*BA in Business Management
*BSC in Computing
*Degree Foundation + BA/BSC Degree.