27th April 2021: The SLIIT Business School (SBS) organised ‘Soft Skills+ 2021’ concluded on an extremely successful note recently helping students engage, cooperate and thrive in building their talents towards personal development and career progression.
SLIIT Soft Skills+ event is an annual flagship CSR Project of the SLIIT Business School organized with the primary objective of developing secondary school students’ soft skills in positive thinking, creativity, analytical thinking, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and teamwork.
Over the years, the programme has garnered much popularity among schools and participants. Due to its tremendous success achieved in previous programmes, Soft Skills+ 2021 followed an upgraded structure. For the first time in the Soft Skills+ programme history, the event was held via online platforms, including a Soft Skills-based online quiz and an online workshop for students and teachers.
During the Grand Finale, Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda, Dean of SLIIT Business School welcomed the participants and distinguished guests. Prof. Lalith Gamage, Vice Chancellor, SLIIT also addressed the gathering. Mrs. Munazza Rafeek, Senior Brand Manager, Unilever PLC, a former SBS Alumni was the Chief Guest and delivered a thought provoking speech. Dr. Nisha Jayasooriya, Senior Lecturer, SLIIT Business School concluded the event delivering the vote of thanks.
Commenting on the conclusion of 2021 programme Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda, Dean, SLIIT Business School said, “We are extremely pleased to have concluded Soft Skills+ 2021 on a successful note, especially since it was conducted via online platforms. The competitions encourage teams to come together to solve a problem or articulate an idea, challenge participants to combine disparate strengths and outlooks. Moreover, this programme recreates the world of work and presents students with opportunities to nurture vital soft skills.”
The event comprised three rounds and during the Grand Finance the winners were presented their awards. In first place was Badulla Central College, Badulla, followed by St. Bridget’s Convent Colombo 07 in second place and Musaeus College, Colombo 07 was placed third.
Winners of the Most Popular Category were first place Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala, second place Yasodara Devi Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Gampaha and third place Maliyadeva Boys’ College, Kurunegala.
The winners were selected based on a quiz competition and a creative video activity. Certificates were awarded to the winners. Other attractive prizes including laptop, tabs, portable hard drives and pen drives, which are extremely helpful for students these days in their online and remote learning, were also presented.
Several valuable workshops and sessions inculcating vital skills were conducted for the participants prior to the Grand Finale. These were conducted by experienced and knowledgeable resource persons.
The following workshops were organised by SBS:
- An online workshop on ‘Interactive Online Teaching Methodologies’ designed which especially for school teachers was conducted in Sinhala and English mediums by Dr. Malitha Wijesundara, Dean of SLIIT Faculty of Humanities and Sciences and the Founder – Eduscope (Pvt) Ltd.
- An online workshop on ‘Interactive Online Teaching Methodologies’ designed which especially for school teachers in the English and Tamil mediums was conducted by Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar, Associate Dean – SLIIT Business School and Ms. Janani Tharmaseelan, Lecturer at Faculty of Computing
- Online Workshop on ‘How to be a Successful Online Learner’ specially designed for school students was presented by Mrs. Mano Weligodapola, Head – Department of Business Management, SLIIT Business School in Sinhala and English Mediums.
- Online Workshop on ‘How to be a Successful Online Learner’ specially designed for school students in the Tamil medium by Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar, SLIIT Business School.
- Online Workshop on ‘Innovative Leadership’ conducted by Prof. Samantha Thelijjagoda, Dean of SLIIT Business School and Mr. Dilum Perera, Life Coach was held in Sinhala and English Mediums.
- Online Workshop on ‘Innovative Leadership’ conducted by Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar, Associate Dean of SLIIT Business School was held in Tamil and English Mediums.
- Online Workshop on ‘Effective Teamwork’ was conducted by Dr. Ruwan Jayathilake, Head of the Department of Information Management of SLIIT Business School was held in Sinhala and English Mediums.
- Online Workshop on ‘Effective Teamwork’ conducted by Prof. Nagalingam Nagendrakumar, Associate Dean of SLIIT Business School was held in Tamil and English Mediums.