The Global CEO Magazine recently had the opportunity to delve into the intricacies of the University of Wolverhampton MBA programme offered at CINEC Metro Campus through a detailed discussion with Mr Chandima H. de Silva.
As the person entrusted by CINEC with the responsibility of managing the MBA programme, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Technology and Head of the ICT Resources and Services Department, Mr. de Silva provides invaluable insights into the programme’s development, faculty expertise, and the comprehensive support provided to students.
This interview sheds light on how CINEC Campus has become a prominent institution for MBA education, reflecting on its history, the quality of its academic offerings, and the impact on students’ career advancement.
Q: Can you describe the University of Wolverhampton MBA programme at CINEC Metro Campus?
We are conducting the University of Wolverhampton UK MBA at CINEC Metro Campus in Nugegoda. We have been very successfully conducting this programme with the 17th intake now in progress, and we are happy to say that we have already recruited more than 650 students, both Sri Lankan and foreign, into this programme. Our success story lies mainly due to several reasons, the first being, of course, the CINEC unblemished brand name that has been in existence for nearly 35 years now. Captain Ajith Peiris, our President and Chief Executive Officer, started CINEC Campus 34 years ago primarily as a maritime cadet training institution. Thereafter, he developed CINEC Campus into a fully fledged modern campus now comprising eight faculties. The MBA from the University of Wolverhampton was a landmark in the history of CINEC.
Of course, we have had the association and affiliation with the University of Wolverhampton for more than 17 years now. We offer University of Wolverhampton degree programmes in our Faculty of Engineering as well as our Faculty of Computing. A few years ago, Captain Ajith Peiris decided to commence postgraduate professional programmes also from the University of Wolverhampton. That is how the University of Wolverhampton approved their Master of Business Administration degree to be conducted at CINEC Metro Campus, the CINEC branch in the suburb of Colombo.
Q: Can you highlight the expertise and accomplishments of your faculty members, and explain how your institution supports students in their research and dissertation work?
The next most important aspect of our MBA is our panel of professors. Arguably, we have the best panel of MBA professors teaching in our programme. Almost all of them are from State universities—highly experienced and capable lecturers with many years of teaching as well as postgraduate supervision experience, while other lecturers are well known personalities from the corporate sector. The third important aspect is that we provide excellent student support. From the day they register in our MBA programme until the day they attend the convocation and graduate, we look after them very well.
Even when they have any academic issues or personal issues affecting their studies, we always take them very seriously and address such issues at the earliest possible time. We have a dedicated student recruitment manager, assisted by able staff at CINEC Metro Campus, who specifically look after and attend to the needs of our MBA scholars. All our MBA scholars are working, mature individuals. Most of them have returned to studies after a pause or a break. To help them get into the academic mode, they need support—from the tutors teaching in our MBA programme as well as from our administrative staff. We ensure that all support needed by students, whether it is an issue with assignment submission, covering additional material needed for assignments, or arranging extra lectures on additional topics, is provided willingly and promptly. The references from our MBA students have been very positive; they speak highly of our institution, CINEC Campus, as well as our distinguished panel of professors.
Q : How your programme equips students with the skills and connections needed to succeed in their careers?
If I speak about the modules in our MBA, they span a wide array of management topics ranging from strategic marketing management to strategic people management, financial decision-making, and sustainable strategic management. In their master’s research project, students choose a research topic, preferably related to their own place of work, and get it approved by our panel of supervisors, after which we assign a master’s research project supervisor based on the specialization of the topic. Our MBA is WES-recognised, which means that after successful completion of the MBA, this qualification is accepted for migration to many countries as well as for progressing to doctoral-level studies. It is also possible to immediately progress to a PhD programme either in Sri Lanka or abroad after completing our MBA. Many of our MBA alumni have done so.
All our MBA scholars, soon after they register in the MBA programme, gain access to University of Wolverhampton online resources as well as our CINEC resources. They have access to our CINEC library as well as other co-curricular and extra-curricular activities that we conduct at CINEC. The University of Wolverhampton MBA is internationally recognised as being at the forefront of management education. It offers high-quality blended learning and access to excellent learning facilities. Upon successfully completing the MBA, scholars gain a much sought-after academic qualification as well as a professional qualification, which will naturally enhance their career prospects in a number of managerial roles across a wide range of international business sectors.
If I may speak about the MBA faculty, their research, and how they assist our MBA scholars in accomplishing their research capabilities: once students choose their MBA dissertation or project topic, they are assigned a research supervisor, most of whom are our lecturer panel members who are also professors in state universities. They guide our MBA scholars in engaging in MBA research as well as in writing their dissertations. Our faculty members even go to the extent of providing our MBA students with additional knowledge and expertise. For example, in statistical analysis and the use of statistical software, even though this is not directly included in the curriculum, our lecturers go a step further and assist our dissertation students in learning and using statistical software effectively. Additionally, if our faculty members feel that our MBA scholars’ dissertations are of high quality, they encourage such scholars to publish papers based on their dissertation results. An effective value addition in our MBA programme is that we harness the wealth of experience and knowledge from our MBA scholars and share them among all our MBA scholars, so that all our MBA scholars as well as Faculty could benefit.
Regarding career development, most of our MBA scholars are already employed. Some are in senior management positions while others are in middle management. Completing our MBA naturally help them acquire more knowledge, skills, and better competency in management practices, thus enabling them to advance or change their careers effectively. We want our MBA scholars to be change agents in society, to adapt new management practices in their workplaces, and to be exemplary practitioners of modern-day management. In terms of teaching and lecturing, we use the latest technology in our lecture rooms. We have smart boards and the latest technology to benefit students’ learning, as our professors use the latest pedagogical techniques and technology in their teaching, thus facilitating the learning process effectively. The use of technology, including during online sessions, has played a major role, and all our MBA scholars appreciate the effective use of technology and technological tools in teaching and learning.
