The Project Management Club of the Department of Project Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya, successfully organized a Career Guidance Programme on March 8th, 2025, via Zoom. The session was conducted by Mr. Aruna Kooragamage, a highly respected Project Management Consultant, Trainer, Lecturer, and Past President of the PMI Sri Lanka Chapter. The primary aim of the webinar was to provide students with practical insights into exploring diverse career opportunities within the project management field, understanding current industry trends, and developing essential technical and soft skills needed for professional success. The session emphasized bridging the gap between academic learning and industry expectations, thereby enhancing the employability and career readiness of students.
The interactive nature of the webinar allowed students to engage directly with the resource person, gain personalized career advice, and participate in discussions about real-world project management experiences. Mr. Kooragamage also guided students through effective self-assessment techniques and career action planning to help them set both short-term and long-term career goals. Practical case studies provided relatable examples of successful career pathways, boosting student confidence and motivation. The programme concluded successfully at 8:45 PM, with positive feedback from participants and a recommendation from the Project Management Club to continue similar industry engagement initiatives in the future.
The Project Management Club of the Department of Project Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya, successfully organized a Workshop on Project Auditing and Follow-up Actions on March 7th, 2025, via Zoom. The session, which commenced at 7:30 PM, was facilitated by Mr. Sudar Theepan, Communications and Learning Director at RTI International, who shared his extensive expertise on project auditing and governance. The workshop aimed to equip students with practical auditing techniques, methods for assessing project performance, and effective follow-up action strategies to enhance project success and ensure compliance.
Throughout the session, participants from all four batches of the Project Management program, along with the Head of the Department and academic staff, gained valuable knowledge on systematic issue identification, accountability frameworks, and approaches to strengthen project governance. Real-world examples and case studies helped illustrate effective auditing practices, making the concepts practical and relatable for students. The workshop concluded successfully at 8:45 PM, with the Head of the Department thanking Mr. Theepan for his valuable contribution and presenting a token of appreciation. The event provided participants with essential tools to improve operational efficiency and accountability in future project work.
The Project Management Club of the Department of Project Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya, successfully organized the Workshop on Feasibility Analysis for Successful Capstone Projects on March 6th, 2025, via Zoom. The session, which commenced at 7:30 PM, was facilitated by Mr. K. Ranjan, Consultant in Governance and Planning, with extensive experience as a retired Governance & Planning Specialist for the European Union, Sri Lanka. The workshop was designed to provide students with practical knowledge and tools to assess the viability of business ideas and project proposals, particularly in relation to their upcoming capstone projects.
During the workshop, Mr. Ranjan guided participants through the essential elements of conducting feasibility studies, covering technical, economic, operational, and legal aspects. Students gained a deeper understanding of how feasibility analysis contributes to informed decision-making, risk identification, and project success. Through real-world examples and case studies, attendees were introduced to practical techniques for applying feasibility studies to their own project work. The session concluded at 8:45 PM, equipping students with essential skills to confidently evaluate business ideas and project proposals. The Project Management Club extends its sincere appreciation to Mr. Ranjan for his expertise and to all participants for their active engagement.
The Project Management Club of the Department of Project Management, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya, successfully conducted a webinar titled “Strategic Project Planning with Logical Framework Analysis” on 25th February 2025 via Zoom. The session was facilitated by Mr. Sudar Theepan, Communications and Learning Director at RTI International, who brings extensive experience from his work with organizations such as the Danish Refugee Council and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during Sri Lanka’s conflict and post-conflict periods. The objective of the webinar was to introduce third- and fourth-year project management students to advanced project planning concepts aligned with their course units PM 3233, CAP 3213, and 4216.
During the session, Mr. Theepan provided comprehensive insights into the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), emphasizing its role in project design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. He covered critical topics such as logic models, theory of change, donor expectations, and results-based management (RBM). The webinar also highlighted the practical application of LFA tools throughout the project life cycle to ensure structured, successful project execution. With the active participation of 101 students and academic staff members, the session significantly enhanced students’ knowledge and practical skills in project proposal writing, evaluation, and strategic planning, better preparing them for both academic success and real-world project management challenges.
On the same date, January 29, 2025, the Project Management Club conducted the first webinar of the year via the Zoom platform at 7:30 PM. This intellectually enriching session was titled “Bridging Regional Disparities: Enhancing Development and Project Management Practices in Sri Lanka.” The webinar featured an esteemed guest speaker, Dr. A. Antonyrajan, Senior Lecturer and expert in geography, remote sensing, GIS, and social work. His extensive academic and research background provided an authoritative foundation for the topic.
The session began with a redefined exploration of regional disparities, in which Dr. Antonyrajan introduced a modified interpretation that linked regional underdevelopment with imbalances in power distribution and policy focus. He emphasized the evolution of development thinking, from traditional centralized strategies to modern, decentralized models that better serve local populations. He further elaborated on global comparisons in regional development frameworks, encouraging students to understand the importance of devolution of power and its impact on balanced economic growth. One of the most stimulating elements of the session was the critical question posed to the audience about whether regionalism poses a threat to national unity or strengthens political stability and inclusiveness. This prompted thoughtful discussion and engagement from participants. The Head of the Department, Mrs. S. Mathivathany, contributed her reflections, expressing appreciation for the depth of the presentation and encouraging future sessions on the practical implications of governance structures in Sri Lanka. The webinar concluded at 8:45 PM, leaving students with a deeper understanding of regional development challenges in the Sri Lankan context.
On April 1, 2024, at 7 PM, Mr. K.K. Ragunathan, a civil engineer from the Open University of Sri Lanka, led an insightful webinar covering project management tools, workplace health and safety, and root cause analysis. Participants learned about effective project management software and methodologies that enhance productivity. Mr. K.K.Ragunathan emphasized the importance of fostering a safety culture in the workplace and shared best practices for compliance. He also covered techniques for root cause analysis, helping attendees identify and address underlying issues to improve project outcomes and safety. The session concluded with an engaging Q&A, allowing attendees to gain further insights from Mr.K.K. Ragunathan’s expertise
On July 3, 2024, the PM Club organized a webinar series titled “Project Management 101: From Basic to Building Your Career in the IT Industry,” featuring a resource person with a BSc (Hons) in Information Technology and recognized as a top performer on LinkedIn. The session, held virtually from 3:30 PM to 5 PM, aimed to introduce participants to the fundamentals of project management while emphasizing its significance in the IT sector. The resource person shared insights on essential skills, best practices, and strategies for advancing careers in the industry, providing valuable guidance for both newcomers and those looking to enhance their project management capabilities.
The Project Management Club jointly with the Department of project management, Faculty of business studies, University of Vavniya initiated and conducted a webinar on “Project management certification for professional development”. Department of project management organized this workshop via zoom on 28th march 2023 at 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
This webinar was hosted by Mr.Aruna Kooragamage. PMP, MBA (THI), MBA (USA), Project/Program Management Consultant, Trainer & Lecturer, Past President at PMI Sri Lanka Chapter, PMI Authorized Training Partner/certified instructor. He has so much knowledge in the project management field. The resource person was welcomed and addressed by Mr. Thirungnasampanthar, head of the department of project management, faculty of business studies, University of Vavnuniya.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the leading professional association for project management and the authority for a growing global community of project professionals and individuals who use project management skills. Collectively, these professionals and “change makers” consistently create better outcomes for businesses, communities, and society worldwide. Mr.Aruna Kooragamage has more experience with this PMI in Sri Lanka; therefore, he provided huge knowledge about improving career paths in the project management field and guided the student to become a project management certified professional. He was explained step by step how to complete the certification of a project management professional when students are at the undergraduate level. Moreover, he discussed the examination process and marking papers as well. All-year project management students and past project management graduates of the university also participated in this webinar.
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As the Project Management Club of The Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya essentially pointed out to organize a workshop through online base. Therefore, PM Club organized its workshop series 04 “PRACTICAL USAGE OF PROGECT MANAGEMENT IN IT INDUSTRIES” via zoom platform on 15th March 2023 from 03.00 PM to 05.00 PM.
The guest speaker of this webinar was Mr.Aathif Nihas he is working as a project manager at Codegen international and he completed his BSc. Hons in computer science at university college Dublin and he is a former alumna of Zahira College Matale. Not only that he has numerous knowledge and experience in IT based project management. During the session the guest speaker discussed about what is project management and how it works in this current situation of Sri Lanka and in the Codegen international as well, Agile project management, Agile Framework not only that he discussed about the scrum and usage of JIRA software as a tool in project management and difference between agile and waterfall approaches he kept all the participants very engaged and enthusiastic therefore participants got plenty of knowledge through this session about IT project Management. Senior Advisor and Treasurer Mrs. S. Mathivathany participated for enlighten the event. All the first year, second year, third year Project Management students, other faculty students of university and past alumna of the university were actively participated to the workshop.
While conducting the questionnaire session, student’s engagement was greatly highlighted. Over 87 of participation the workshop series 04 successfully completed.
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As the Project Management Club of The Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya essentially pointed out to organize a workshop through online base. Therefore, we organized our workshop series 03 “STEPPING INTO IT PROJECT MANANGEMENT” via zoom platform on 26th February 2023 from 09.00 Am to 11.00 AM.
The guest speaker of this webinar was Mr.Vidura Bandara project and operation manager at the Ai team. And certificate scrum master. In present he is working as an industry engagement coordinator of computer society sir Lanka and he has so many experiences with IEEE Sri Lanka. He worked as associated project manager in Airmac and he is an agile coach moreover he completed his Bsc.hons in computer science at the Sri john kotelawala defense university and he is a former alumna of Ananda college. During the session the guest speaker provide knowledge about IT related project management and how it works in this current situation of Sri Lanka not only that he discussed about the 10 knowledge areas of project management according to the PMBOK 6 and difference between agile and waterfall approaches he kept all the participants very engaged and enthusiastic therefore participants got plenty of knowledge through this session about IT project Management. Dean of the Faculty of Business Studies Dr. Y. Nanthagopan, Head of The Department of Project Management Mr. S. Thirugnanasampanthar, Senior Advisor and treasurer Mrs. S. Mathivathany also were invited by Project Management Club for enlighten the event. All the first year, second year, third year Project Management students, other faculty students of university and past alumna of the university were actively participated to the workshop.
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As the Project Management Club of the Faculty of Business Studies, University of Vavuniya essentially pointed out to organize a workshop through online base. Therefore, we organized our workshop series 02 “PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES FOR SUSTAINABLE PROFESSIONAL EVALUATION” via zoom platform on 24th June 2022 from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm.
Mr.Aruna Jayalal Kooragamage, Authorized Training Partner, Instructor, PMP of PMI USA was join with us as the guest speaker. During the session the guest speaker effectively concentrated with students’ thoughts and therefore the student’s engagement also was high. Dr. Y. Nanthagopan, Dean of the Faculty of Business Studies, Mr. S. Thirugnanasampanthar, Head, Department of Project Management, Mrs. S. Mathivathany, Senior Advisor and Dr.(Eng.) S.S.Sivakumar, Senior Lecturer also were invited by Project Management Club for enlighten the event. All the freshers, first year, second year and third year Project Management students were actively participated to the workshop.
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The Project Management Club of Department of Project Management jointly with the Harmony Center of University of Vavuniya and Friendly ASIA has been conducted a webinar on NATIONAL SAFETY DAY 2021 for undergraduate students and public servants on 26th December 2021 at 3.00pm (Sri Lankan Time) via zoom platform.
Professor Dilanthi Amarathunga, BSc (Hons), PhD, FHEA, FRICS, FRGS, CMGR FCMI, Professor of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Head, Global Disaster Resilience Centre and Ms. Anoja Seneviratne, Director, Mitigation, Research and Development Division, DMC has been invited as the guest speakers. The titles called “Risk-Informed Decision Making on Development Agenda in Pandemic Crisis” and “Mainstreaming DRR in development projects in Sri Lanka” has been presented by guest speakers respectively.
Further, a question session also was held during the webinar time. It was made a higher value to the webinar series and specially students were mostly benefited through this session with more than 150 participations. This valuable webinar has provided a huge approach to the students gain their knowledge in Disaster Management and Risk Reduction. Especially this webinar was helpful to the students to understand that how exactly the disaster risk reduction programs practically applied and got to know that even in the pandemics how to make suitable development decisions.
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The Project Management Club of Department of Project Management of University of Vavuniya has been conducted a webinar titled “DISASTER RISK REDUCTION OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA” for project management students on 13th of October 2021 at 3.30pm via zoom platform. The main purpose of this webinar was to celebrate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and give awareness to the students regarding disaster risk reductions.
Mr.K.Sugunathas, Assistant Director, Disaster Management Centre, Trincomalee has been invited as Guest speaker of this virtual session. Specially, he has discussed about Disaster situation in Sri Lanka, how risks are occurring, which kind of risk are being occurred, how can be managed disaster risk, which kind of techniques and tools can be used, which are the challenges are faced by the development field and project managers how delt those. Ms.M.F.Zaleeka, Active member of the club played a role as Telecaster of this webinar series 03.
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The Project Management Club of Department of Project Management of University of Vavuniya has been conducted a webinar called “HOW TO BE AN ONLINE ENTREPRENEUR” for undergraduate students of the Universities on 12th September 2021 at 10.30 am via zoom platform.
Mr.Madushka Dissanayake, Entrepreneur, Director/Shareholder at Proximo and AUKOD, Mr.Chamin Dias, BSc (1st class honours) in Computer Science, Moderator of Online Entrepreneurs Club, Sri Lanka and Mr.Lasantha Wickramasinghe, Online Entrepreneur, Shareholder at Outsmart Hub HQ, Founder of Builtapps, Former management Assistant at Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka have been invited as Guest speakers for this virtual session. As titles of every guest speakers, “Introduction to online entrepreneurship” , “ How to start your online business journey” , “Why you should become as an online entrepreneur” and “From “HUSTLING” to “ENTREPRENUERSHIP” costly mistakes to avoid in your entrepreneurship journey” were selected and presented by the speakers respectively. Ms.M.F.Zaleeka, Active member of the club played a role as Telecaster of this webinar series 02. Mrs.S.Mathivathany, Senior Advisor/ Treasurer of the PM Club played a role as moderator for this webinar. The main purpose of this webinar was to know the various platforms for online money earnings while studying.
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The Project Management Club of the Department of Project Management in Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna has been conducted a webinar called “LAND PERFECT INTERNSHIP” for the Project Management students on 27th June 2021 at 9.30 am via zoom platform.
Dr.Y.Nanthagopan, Dean Faculty of Business Studies, Mr.M.F.Marikkar, Secretary General, RAHAMA/FORUT and Mr.Thirugnanasampanthar, Head, Department of Project Management have been invited as Guest speakers for this virtual session. As titles of every guest speaker, “Impact of Internship on Students’ Outcomes”, “Strategic Partnership for the Internship” and “Employers’ Expectations from Intern Students” were selected and presented by the speakers respectively. Mrs.S.Mathivathany, Senior Advisor/ Treasurer of the PM Club played a role as coordinator and moderator for this webinar.
Further, experiences also were shared by the following existing PM intern students with the following topics.
Mr.L.Pratheepkanth – “How to Select Internship Organizations”
Ms.Ashinika M.M.D.M.W. – “Prepared to be Hired (Qualifications and Skills)”
Mr.N.M.Hafis – “Practices and Performance Review”
Ms.S.F.Shafna – “Challenges and Overcoming Strategies”
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