Be Professionally Equipped 6.0 is a recurring project carried out by the Professional Development Avenue of the Rotaract Club of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The program was first launched in the RI Year 2018–19, and this is the sixth successful edition that includes several new features. The main objective of this project is the personal and professional development of the participants.

The project aimed to shape the sociability, soft skills, and personal lifestyle management of both Rotaractors and Non-Rotaractors for the purpose of advancing their careers. The development of students’ professional skills, which is necessary for them to become competent grownups, was further supported by this project.

Soft skills refer to an individual’s personality traits and social skills that influence their capacity to collaborate or communicate with others. A vast array of competencies are included in the category of soft skills, including effective communication, delegation, teamwork, and time management. An undergraduate may need more than just a degree to succeed in their career and handle difficult circumstances as the corporate world gets more and more competitive. Soft skills and some aspects of personal lifestyle are crucial for development because these are what determine how an individual responds to different scenarios in their personal and professional lives.

The Professional Development Avenue of the club is focused on improving professionalism to improve people’s lives. To accomplish this goal, the BPE project was created to address a wide range of subjects. This is remarkable in light of the corporate sector’s constant growth and competitiveness, the distance between academia and business, the demands of particular professional sectors, and the standards that organizations have for skills that go beyond a degree.

The project was completed in three stages, each of which had specific objectives that aimed toward accomplishing the project’s overall aims.

Phase 1 – This phase was conducted through 3 webinars. The first webinar on ‘‘Importance of the Attitude of a University student for Professional Devolopment” was conducted by Mr. M.V.R.U.K.B. Ariyarathna, a lecturer at University of Peradeniya. This webinar allowed us to highlight the importance of a university student’s attitude for professional development can offer insights on resilience, adaptability, initiative, and growth mindset for career success and personal fulfillment.

The second webinar of the first phase was conducted by Ms. Sasani Bowatte, Lecture at Esoft Metro Campus, Visiting lecturer of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Certified IELTS. The topic of the second webinar is “Enhancing Business English Skills for University Students’ Professional Development”. This webinar done a significant role in enhancing business English skills for university students on effective communication, networking, professional writing, presentation techniques, and cultural sensitivity in global workplaces.

The last webinar of the Phase 1 is on the “Essential IT for the Professional Development of University Students”. This webinar was conducted by Prof. Lasith Gunawardena, Head of the Department of IT, FMSC – University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A webinar on essential IT skills can offer insights into digital literacy, software proficiency, cybersecurity awareness, data analysis techniques, and leveraging technology for career advancement.

Phase 2 – Through this phase the project expect to enhance the knowledge​regarding corporate sector and working environment in university students. A webinar on “How Do We Adjust to the Corporate World and to a New Working Environment” was conducted by Mr. Samitha Abeyrathne, Supply Chain Digital Transformation & Excellence Manager at Uniliever. Mr. Samitha had obtain a MBA in University if West London and a BSc in Electrical and Electrical Engineering. This webinar helps students to get valuable insights on workplace culture, communication norms, time management, networking strategies, and navigating organizational hierarchies for successful integration.

Phase 3 – The final Phase of this project is focused on Public Speaking and Personal Grooming. This helps participants to get practical tips on confident speech delivery, professional appearance, grooming standards, body language, and interpersonal communication in workplace settings. This Phasewas carried out through online workshops.

The First workshop is on “Personal Grooming with Office Etiquette”. This  was conducted by Mrs. Preethimali LiyanageSoosaithasan, Freelance Management Consultant and Corporate Trainer. This was yet another crucial topic for undergraduates, who are bound to know this information to demonstrate themselves as trustworthy workers in the workplace.

The final workshop which focused on Public Speaking was conducted by Ms. Mineli De Croos: winner of All Island Best Gavel Speaker Contest 2022. The workshop provided the participants with the skills they needed to get over their stage fright and develop into confident, competent public speakers. The students were given the opportunity to speak up on basic subjects, which made for an extremely interesting lesson.

We are pleased to finally announce the successful completion of our project. We are happy to have achieved the project’s objectives and assisted our grantees in advancing their careers. The program was completed successfully, giving those who want to enter the workforce or who are already employed a very beneficial and productive platform to develop the skills they need to be competent employers or workers.

Written by: Rtr. Dilshan Abeysinghe

Graphic design by: Rtr. Abhirami Ravindranathan