AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-led organization. Together with partnered organizations, AIESEC facilitates a network of Cross-Cultural Exchanges to enable Leadership Development in the form of Volunteering Experiences, Professional Internships, and Events.
AIESEC chapter of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ) is one of the most outstanding Local Committees under AIESEC in Sri Lanka, having an active membership of over 200 undergraduates from 6 different faculties. AIESEC in USJ has made remarkable benchmarks with the impact they make and the young leaders they molded throughout the years.
During this year they had taken a step towards inspiring the youth and harnessing their professional potential through their latest initiative SYNDICATE – Challenge your perspective.
In the present economic turmoil, COVID-19 has brought many challenges to businesses. In such challenging times a competition like SYNDICATE was organized with the hope of inspiring the youth of Sri Lanka to think outside the box and with the intention of improving their business planning, budgeting, and problem-solving skills.
This was an open competition to both after A/L students and undergraduates who were interested in jumpstarting their professional career with an amazing learning experience while standing a chance to win a cash prize worth 50,000 LKR and valuable scholarships from Premier Partners, the Professional Education Partner for the event and internships.
SYNDICATE began with the participation of 53 teams including 142 participants from 17 different universities. The program included workshops facilitated by renowned business professionals to provide youth with the latest knowledge of businesses and their advancements and to accelerate their problem-solving skills, pitching skills, innovativeness, and knowledge in terms of business management through the analysis of real-world corporate scenarios.
After the initial phase of the competition which gave the opportunity for the contestants to exhibit their critical thinking and analytical skills, the top 5 teams were selected as the finalists. As a result of their outstanding performances, Team Pioneers, Team Amigos, Team CDP Knights, Team Demeter’s, and Team Forever were qualified for the finale.
Following that, the SYNDICATE Grand Finale was conducted live through the AIESEC Sri Lanka Facebook page on the 28th of September, marking yet another successful milestone in the AIESEC chapter of USJ.
SYNDICATE Grand Finale was graced by the presence of Mr. Chethana Kahandugoda, Deputy General Manager – Information Technology at LB Finance PLC, the Platinum Partner for the event and Mr. Bimal Perera, Deputy General Manager – Strategy in Digital Finance at LB Finance PLC, and Mr. Dhanushka Wijayapala representing Stax Colombo, the Knowledge Partner for the event, as the esteemed panel of judges.
SYNDICATE was not only a battle of minds, but it also was about teamwork and networking. Signifying this factor, a separate campaign was launched on Facebook to select the most popular team. It was quite interesting to see how these teams were gaining popularity even before the final competition. With over 228 likes, 3K comments, and 1K likes on Facebook, Team CDP Knights claimed the most popular team title in the Grand Finale.
SYNDICATE Grand Finale was organized in a manner to deliver both knowledge and entertainment for the contests as well as to the audience. The 2 popular entertainers of the night, Kalani Athukorala and Thishan Shanuka from Voice Sri Lanka lit up the whole event with their mesmerizing voices and performances.
Through its purposeful partnerships, AIESEC in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura is always focused on inspiring the youth in gaining the best level of exposure and knowledge to enhance their leadership potential. SYNDICATE was another successful event that was developed on these purposeful partnerships. The insightful session delivered by Mr. Chethana Kahandugoda, Deputy General Manager – Information Technology in LB Finance PLC highlighted this factor.
He shared his expertise on Fintech, the latest developments in the business world, and adaptation to the new normal, which was truly insightful for the listeners. He also did not forget to comment about the commendable performance of AIESEC in USJ, in organizing these types of events to upskill the Sri Lankan youth by mentioning, “We are glad to continue this partnership to prosper and inculcate the business need amongst the students who will be the inspiring entrepreneurs and technopreneurs in future”.
During the Grand Finale, the finalists got the opportunity to present their business solutions to the esteemed panel of judges. After an intense battle of minds, based on the fair and accurate verdict of the panel of judges, Shan Dilhara, Sasanthi Fernando and Amila Sampath from Team Amigos received the great pleasure of winning the SYNDICATE Business Case Study Competition.
The 1st runners up of the competition were Chandima Herath, Dushan Dhananjaya and Chandima Prabath from Team CDP Knights and the 2nd runners up were Pramudith Rajapaksha and Yanushi Gunasekara from Team Forever.
The winners took home exciting and valuable gifts from the Gift Partners of the event, Eatts, The Last Mart and Anu Hand Crafts, Photobooth.lk, Your Page and We Are Living Art. Furthermore, the finalists and champions were awarded digital badges from Credible Digital, the Digital Credentials Partner for the event.
At the same time, EVA, the Youth Partner for the event, RiseMeUp.lk the Talent Partner for the event, Impulse, GoodPR, Chokolaate, the Media Partners for the event, Echelon, the Exclusive Magazine Partner for the event and Sunena Arts, the Trophy and Plaque Partner for the event were also the main contributory factors towards the success of this event.
AIESEC in USJ, setting yet another benchmark in the AIESEC Sri Lanka history, thereby, successfully concluded the SYNDICATE Business Case Study Competition, by harnessing the professional potential of youth by making them challenge their own perspective. There is no doubt that these contestants will syndicate their knowledge in the future to uplift the commercial sector in Sri Lanka by becoming true business professionals.
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