The post graduate marketing diploma developed by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) could soon emerge as an international marketing qualification, in the same vein as CIM perhaps.
"Certain institutions and interested parties in India and Bangladesh wanted to linkup with us and offer our post graduate marketing diploma to their students and we tried to go online but because they did not have the necessary infrastructure in place the idea had been shelved for the time being. Currently, however, several Maldivians are following the course," said Nimal Wirasekara, Executive Director, SLIM.
The SLIM post graduate diploma is developed and updated by an elite panel of marketing professionals headed by Dr. K U Kamalgoda, the first Sri Lankan to earn a doctorate in marketing.
Dr. Kamalgoda currently chairs the Asia-Pacific Marketing Federation (AMF) of which Sri Lanka is a full member and its post graduate diploma is approved by the AMF and recognised among the member countries.
Wirasekara said that whilst there were many marketing qualifications on offer, they were more theoretical. SLIM was more practical in its orientation, with many assignments, dissertations and hands-on-experience thrown in with the theoretical aspects of marketing.
Sarath C. Fernando, Immediate Past President, SLIM, said that by 2020 the institute plans to establish its own university in marketing and the post graduate marketing diploma will be further developed as an international qualification through foreign partnerships.
"We discovered that there are markets abroad where large number of students complete their primary and secondary education and do not have the opportunity to acquire a qualification that was specific to marketing. We met with a few people abroad and laid down the ground work to link these foreign students to our qualification," he said.
Fernando believes that there is a big opportunity to expand into the region. Several interested parties in those countries in Asia have showed a keen interest in SLIM’ post graduate marketing diploma.
Fernando observes that there are new trends taking place in local and foreign markets to acquire knowledge specific to career paths that are being selected by the prospective students. For example many students are now following specialised study courses after GCE (OL) without moving along with the traditional pathway of doing the GCE (AL).
Some attend advanced level classes whilst following other specialised courses. The number of students following these specialised courses after advanced level had been increasing over the years. They collect necessary qualifications to meet their dream of becoming global citizens and like to get ready for employment in the global market.
But the signs that SLIM’s post graduate diploma could go places emerged when Buckinghamshire New University (or Bucks for short, established in 1893, so its not New) recognised the SLIM qualification for exemptions to the first semester of its MBA programme.
The 18 month MBA programme is divided into three semesters of six months each. The UK based Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) post graduate diploma also receives the same exemptions and this augurs well for Sri Lanka’s ‘home grown’ marketing qualification. The Bucks MBA programme can be followed here in Sri Lanka with SLIM conducting the lectures.
"SLIM having identified these trends linked up with Bucks University to help Sri Lankan youth meet their educational aspirations. SLIM has also initiated discussions with some other universities in developed countries. The existing SLIM business English and personality development course will support students to move in this direction," Fernando said.
"We need to identify and create avenues to help our youth. Acquiring knowledge and skills will provide more job opportunities for our youth in the global market, and our country will benefit on the long run when they begin to remit their earnings back to Sri Lanka. Currently, the worker remittances from abroad have become one of the largest foreign exchange earners for the country."
Elaborating on the Sri Lanka University Grants Commission approved Bucks MBA programme, Wirasekara said that the course had two competitive advantages over other MBA programmes.
"The course can be completed in just 18 months and is structured in such a way to cater to professionals who don’t have adequate time to set aside for studies. The second benefit is that the investment is less than Rs.700,000," he said. Payments can be made in three instalments.
