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UK's Plymouth University in exciting partnership with NSBM

UK's Plymouth University, ranked amongst the top10 modern UK universities in the world, announced its partnership with Sri Lanka's National School of Business Management [NSBM] to a distinguished gathering of academics, diplomats, government dignitaries and educationists.

Present for the launch was Plymouth University's President and Vice Chancellor, Wendy Purcell, while the Chief Guest was Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Education. Also present was Monitoring MP for Education / Skills Development and Youth Affairs, Mohanlal Grero.

"We have formed a unique and exciting partnership with the National School of Business Management to deliver a tailor made suite of degrees that are relevant to the Sri Lanka of today as well as that of the future. We want our graduates to be Sri Lanka's leaders of tomorrow", said Professor Purcell, addressing the gathering. Professor Purcell who recently gave a keynote address on sustainability to an international UNESCO audience, said that the Plymouth University had been named as one of UK's top performing 'Green' universities.

The annual People and Planet University Green League ranked Plymouth University second out of 145 universities, while Plymouth retains the accolade of being the National UK League's top overall performer since it began.

The University was also the proud recipient this year of the coveted Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education, the highest national honour that can be bestowed upon a university, whilst Plymouth has been awarded more 'Centres of Excellence' in teaching and learning than any other university in the UK.

The CEO, NSBM, Dr E.A. Weerasinghe, said that as an educational institute they were inspired to redefine the role of higher education here in Sri Lanka. " We currently have long term affiliations with world renowned universities such as University College Dublin- Ireland and Limkokwing University Malaysia and this is our most recent partnership with the reputed Plymouth University will undoubtedly strengthen our capabilities in the field of higher education. Students could avail themselves of the very best that our two esteemed institutions have to offer, including being in an environment that is truly eco friendly, the University Green Town in Homagama"

Chief Guest Bandula Gunewardena, while reaffirming his government's stance on furthering higher education in the country, said the NSBM had a dynamic and innovative agenda for the future. "The NSBM offers a novel approach to learning, with the perfect blend of technology and research to prepare our students to take their place in tomorrow's increasingly competitive world. The government of Sri Lanka realizes only too well that the future lies in education and the entrance of the Plymouth University, only serves to underline it's commitment to the furtherance of higher education in the country".

"Plymouth university enjoys excellent links with global industries and hence have a high rate of student employability, with employability skills and placements opportunities embedded throughout every course we offer. We are renowned for being one of the UK's most enterprising universities and in fact have delivered a programme of enterprise and employability with two of Sri Lanka's leading universities, namely the Sri Lanka Flux business Competition, which involves graduates and the Sri Lankan Business Mentors".

As one of the UK's largest universities, Plymouth has over 30,000 students and a 3000 member teaching faculty. "Both our institutions share a passion for educational excellence and delivering a first class student experience that puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do. We have a shared commitment to driving forward innovation and entrepreneurship, thereby creating Sri Lanka's leaders of tomorrow", said Professor Purcell and Dr. Weerasinghe.