University success for Sri Lankan couple
L-R: Karen Wharton, MBA programme leader; Shamalie Wijesinghe; Robert Trimble, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law; and Prasad Wijesinghe.
Not content with just finishing their degree courses, a Sri Lankan couple flew almost 5,500 miles to attend their graduation ceremony at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
Two Master of Business Administration (MBA) students, Shamalie and Prasad Wijesinghe have given their family a double cause for celebration after they both graduated together.
Mrs and Mr Wijesinghe, who have been happily married for 10 years and are proud parents of three children, studied their MBA at the ICBT in Sri Lanka (a collaborative partner of the University of Sunderland) and successfully completed it in June 2015.
They were so excited at the prospect of visiting the City and the University of Sunderland that they flew over to fulfill their dream of attending the winter graduation ceremonies. The couple spent three days in Sunderland to see what life was like in the City.
Shamalie said: “After completing our course we thought of attending the winter graduations in Sunderland and we were the only two from Sri Lanka who got the opportunity to participate at the ceremonies.
“We were very warmly received by Karen Wharton, the MBA programme leader at the University of Sunderland, and we were privileged to get a photo with the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law.”
Shamalie, who juggled her studies with being a mum of three and a full-time job as a Research Officer at the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, said: “I had always wanted to continue my higher education studies. As a mother of three beautiful kids, completing the MBA is the my greatest achievement to date.”
The 36-year-old continued: “The flexibility of the study methods attracted me to the ICBT.
“We also had really good lecturers. I recall Chris Marshall, Assistant Director of the Sunderland Business School, coming to Sri Lanka and doing a good presentation about the University of Sunderland.”
Prasad, 36, who works as a Commissioned Officer for Sri Lanka Air Force also juggled his studies with a full-time job and his family life. He said: “My greatest achievement to date is serving my mother nation to overcome the 30 years of brutal war.”
Despite having just graduated, Shamalie and Prasad have set their sights now on the next challenge - they are looking at pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration.
The couple have always been a source of motivation to each other.
Shamalie said: “We have always studied together helping each other all the time. We were actually schoolmates and were used to study together from a very young age.”