“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” – John Wooden

The Professional Development Avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Sri Jayewardenepura makes it all worthwhile by providing members with the opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Accordingly, the project “Scholastic Coach” has strived in numerous ways, from being nominated as the “Most Outstanding Professional Development Initiative: Career Guidance”, at the 32nd Rotaract District Training Assembly. 

In its second effectuate year, the project was carried out under the title “Scholastic Coach 2.0,” and has overlooked the research and career-related skills of undergraduates as well as their ability to dream beyond boundaries.

The project consisted of four major phases; the first phase comprised an Instagram challenge named “Challenge Yourself,” where five words related to professional development were hidden in the puzzle to make it more fun and entertaining for our delegates, and the delegates had to find words and nominate their friends to continue the challenge.

The second phase was comprised of a physical skills forum – “Future. Ly Skills Forum,” where we collaborated with Unilever SPARKS Student Ambassadors from the University of Sri Jayewardenapura to give in-depth knowledge about professional development to our participants. The first session was about CV writing and Interview facing conducted by Ms. Tahanee Harris, Assistant Manager of Talent & Employer Branding at Unilever Sri Lanka. The second session was about how to maintain a LinkedIn profile, which was also conducted by Ms. Tahanee Harris. The third session was a special interactive session for our delegates, conducted by Mr. Ishan Dissanayake, Assistant WPS Manager at Unilever Sri Lanka.

Through this phase, we were able to guide the undergraduates to be phenomenal graduates and lay a foundation for them to enter the corporate world with a strong backbone.

As the third phase of Scholastic Coach 2.0, we collaborated with Global Reach Study Path (Pvt) Ltd., our Platinum sponsor, where a physical workshop on the “Postgraduate Study Opportunities Abroad” and “Study Abroad”-webinar series were conducted. All the participants were able to enrich their knowledge and awareness of the scope of higher studies in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Most importantly, our guest speakers focused on the popular destinations to pursue higher studies, the university application process, visa applications, and many more significant aspects of higher studies in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Even our delegates got a valuable opportunity to have personal consultations with the guest speakers.

Session 01 of our “Study Abroad” online webinar series was conducted by Mr. Harsha Pathiranage International Recruitment Manager, Apply Board Sri Lanka and Ms. Ravihari Thotagamuwa International Recruitment Manager (UK), Apply Board Sri Lanka and provided us with valuable information regarding pursuing higher studies in the United Kingdom. Session 02 of “Study Abroad” was regarding study opportunities in Canada conducted by the speakers Mr. Harsha Pathiranage International Recruitment Manager and Mr. Thilina Rajapakshe, Manager-Sri Lanka (Canada) Apply Board Sri Lanka. They gave us valuable insights on facing challenges in studying in Canada and how to overcome those with proper guidance. In the final session of “Study Abroad” webinar series the focus was on the higher studies in Australia. Our guest speakers Mr. Harsha Pathiranage, International Recruitment Manager, Apply Board Sri Lanka and Ms. Anoline Thevaranjan, Apply Board Sri Lanka undoubtedly enriched our awareness on postgraduate studies in Australia. Through this phase, we were able lay a foundation among the participants to widen their horizons. 

In the final phase, the project focussed on one of the most challenging yet highly significant tasks in university life: Research Study. We implemented this phase by conducting three webinars, and to make this phase more effective, we did a PR campaign emphasizing the importance of a “Research Study”.

The first webinar covered the importance of research and writing a research proposal, to help all those who seek to be competent in research in the future. Our guest speaker, Dr. Madhura Jayasighe, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Food Sciences and Technology, University of Sri Jayewardenapura, conducted an insightful session on the above topic. The second webinar was about the structure and content of research, which helped all our enthusiastic individuals who are planning to become successful researchers one day. Mr. Soorya Ballendra, O’Brien, Graduate Fellow at Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, Faculty of Law, McGill University, led the session. The final webinar was held with the collaboration of Dr. Duminda Rajasinghe, PhD, MA, FHEA, PQRHM, Senior Lecturer in HRM and Organizational Studies, Department of Human Resource Management|Centre for People, Work, and Organizational Practice, Nottingham Trent University, regarding Business Research Methodology in Action. The three webinars were live-streamed on the official Facebook page of the club to allow a larger audience to be a part of these three webinars.

We believe that through this project, we were able to provide insights to our delegates regarding professional development while focusing on contemporary topics that have a higher demand for one’s career success.

Finally, we take this moment to express our sincere gratitude to Global Reach Study Path Pt (Ltd), our Platinum sponsor and our knowledge partner, Unilever SPARKS Student Ambassadors from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and to everyone who contributed in numerous ways to make it a success.

Written by Rtr. Savindunu Hasandithha

Graphic design by: Rtr. Damindu Lakshan