A total of 48 participants attended the In-Country Program on the Development of Curriculum Integrating Technopreneurship held at the Distance Learning Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka from June 17 to 21, 2019. The program was held through the collaboration of the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and the Department of Technical Education and Training (DTET).

Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai, Program Coordinator and Resource Person, delivering his opening remarks. Through this in-country program and seminar, CPSC aims to contribute to the raising of awareness and provision of skills and values necessary to put technopreneurship into practice. Since training to the participants on technopreneurship is the responsibility of the TVET system, it shall become the platform for participants from member country to contribute to enhance through their occupations and other areas of their lives.

The program was jointly supervised by Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, Director General of CPSC and Mrs. P.N.K Malalasekera, the Director General of DTET. Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai, CPSC Faculty Specialist, acted as the Program Coordinator and Resource Person. He was assisted in the local arrangements and logistics by Mr. Kithsiri Weerawardhana, Deputy Director of Human Resource Management of DTET and Mr. Chamila Indika, the Development Officer at Human Resources Development Division of DTET.

Discussions in the local context were delivered by Dr. Samantha Rathnayake, Faculty member/Management Consultant at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) of University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Engr. (Dr.) D.D.D Suraweera, Dean of the Faculty of Industrial and Vocational Technology, National Institute of Technical Education of Sri Lanka.

Presenting the token of appreciation to Mr. K.D.N. Asoka (center), the chief guest of the program.

The program was officially inaugurated on June 17, 2019. In an opening ceremony, Mr. K.D.N. Ranjith Asoka, the Secretary, Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training & Skill Development was invited as a chief guest of the program. He commended both CPSC and DTET in arranging the event and cited its relevance to the economic and social development of the country. In addition to this, Mrs. P.N.K Malalasekara, Director General of DTET also emphasized on need of technopreneurial skills to the TVET graduates in the era of 21st century and importance of such kind of training program.

For the duration of five days, the following topics were tackled: (1) Organizational Excellence Through the Management of Technopreneurship; (2) Competencies to be a Trainer on Technopreneurship; (3) Embedding Technopreneurship in the Curriculum; (4) Sri Lanka’s Best Practices in Entrepreneurship Education and (5) Fostering Entrepreneurial Attributes among TVET Students through Teaching-Learning Strategies. In addition, a study visit to the Industrial Development Board in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka was embarked in order to provide practical examples of applied technopreneurship practices in the industrial perspective.

The participants during their study visit in Moratuwa
Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai delivering his lecture to the participants

National Seminar on 21st Century Skills for TVET

Seminar Participants during the Program

A total of 68 participants participated in the National Seminar on 21st century Skills for TVET held at the Distance Learning Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 20, 2019. The half-day engagement was held through the collaboration between the Colombo Plan Staff College and Department of Technical Education and Training (DTET), Sri Lanka. The purpose of the seminar is to create a platform for the academicians and practitioners to exchange ideas and experiences. It is also organized to capitalize on the opportunity for the TVET system to collaborate with industry and to work together to prepare the skilled work force., particularly on gaining essential skills for 21st Century such as, but not limited to: collaboration & team work, creativity & imagination, critical thinking, problem solving, flexibility & adaptability, global & cultural awareness, information literacy, leadership, civic literacy & citizenship, social responsibility & ethics, initiatives, technology literacy, and oral & written communications.

An opening session was chaired by the Dr. T. A. Piyasiri, Vice Chairman, National Education Commission (NEC). He also expressed the need of 21st Century skills to the TVET graduates, which ultimately contribute to be a successful technoptreneurs.

The following speakers graced the event and imparted the local insights pertaining to the abovementioned topic: (1) Mr. Christopher Joshua, Managing Director of Access Engineering PLC; (2) Mr. Sathika De Silva, Managing Director, Org Analytics Pvt. Ltd. and (3) Mr. Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director General of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission.

Mr. Janaka Jayalath
Mr. Christopher Joshua
Mr. Santhika de Silva