With Sri Lanka currently not having a university or campus dedicated towards producing the entrepreneurs crucial to the progress of our economy and country in the future, UCL (Universal College Lanka) which has completed their 4th year of successful operation, has undertaken the task of teaching entrepreneurship as a key focal point of their higher education curriculum.
Offering rigorous and targeted programmes with a global perspective blended in with a vibrant entrepreneurial learning culture, UCL who is affiliated with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) to deliver two key programmes that help foster the learnings required by an entrepreneur.
Meeting the skill gap in entrepreneurship teaching: Giving an insight into these programmes Dr. Dhananjay Kulkarni, Dean of Academic Affairs of UCL outlined “Entrepreneurs are a valuable asset to our country and should be cultivated and nurtured as they have the potential to shape the creation of new businesses and job avenues. With technological developments reshaping our workplaces and changing how businesses are operated, means it’s important to equip future generations with the skills and mindsets they need to navigate a world of work we can’t yet envisage. The future is dependent on the next generations, and high-quality teaching that incorporates entrepreneurship will be an essential part of their success. The active minds of tomorrow are reliant on the guidance and support of the teachers today, who will open the world of possibilities up to them. Therefore we believe that investing in entrepreneurship education is one of the highest returns on investment.”
Embedding an entrepreneurial mindset: He further explained “Entrepreneurship and innovation starts by nurturing the skills of our young innovators from inception and we hope to foster this through our degrees. At UCL we dedicate more resources to the formation of entrepreneurial environments that foster progressive ideas and innovation, and equip students with the practical knowledge and skills they need to navigate the choppy waters of business ownership. These skills range from learning to be great communicators, demonstrate leadership, understand the power of branding, manage cross cultural relationships, have an aptitude for sales and business strategy, manage finances and logistics, supply chains and distribution. These are focused upon strongly in the UCLan International Business Degree, along with study topics such as innovation, strategy and entrepreneurship. The UCLan Software Engineering Degree cultivates young minds to bring new ideas into reality and gives a good knowledge of the technologies of the future such as of big data analytics, artificial intelligence, IoT and blockchain.”
He added “several programmes are in place where successful business magnates and entrepreneurs are invited to speak to students on a regular basis during the UCL Talks sessions to share their experience, insights and give guidance.
Providing the right guidance: “Our Faculty has been very carefully chosen to include those with extensive industry and academic experience of a very high stature, who have a track-record in grooming students to be confident and successful personalities. They adopt a teaching style that aims at making students an active element in the learning process, and supports learners to push boundaries, think creatively and be confident enough in their own ability to take the risks necessary to succeed. This has resulted in our institute achieving top results year on year, where many students scored high marks, and won world prizes. It’s been a record to have no failures to date in the UCLan degree programme.”
Cultivating the right experience: “Our Industry affiliations are built with the intention of securing the right internships that derive the best value for students to give them opportunities for innovation, creativity and leadership. Currently UCL graduates have had a very high industry acceptability with employers and we can confidently say that we can place our students in the top 25 companies in Sri Lanka for internships upon graduation“
“Our ultimate aim is for UCL to become the best private higher education campus and a breeding ground for future entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka.“ concluded Dr Dhananjay.