Student Research Forum 2021
The inaugural Student-driven research event at the Faculty of Defence & Strategic Studies
The Faculty of Defence and Strategic Studies (FDSS) marked a special milestone by successfully concluding the inaugural Student Research Forum (SRF) organised by the first batch of undergraduates of Intake 37 following the BSc in Strategic Studies and International Relations (BSc in SS & IR). Titled Serendipity, Cosmopolitanism and Resilience: Sri Lanka’s story in the 21st Century, the event was held on the 8th of July 2021. Adhering to health guidelines, the forum was conducted physically with a limited number of attendees at the KDU auditorium, amid the barriers posed by the pandemic situation of the country. However, many of the participants were connected online via Zoom.
The Chief Guest of the occasion was Vice Chancellor – Major General Milinda Peiris RWP RSP VSV USP ndc psc Mphil. Addressing the event, he stated that this is a historic day for KDU as it is able to achieve one of its objectives, and enable undergraduates to practice what they have learned. Major General Milinda Pieris stated that Student Research Forums such as this provide opportunities for students to improve their leadership qualities and research skills, thereby producing insightful academic research papers.
Head of Marketing and Events, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, Vice President, John Keells Group – Mr. Dileep Mudandeniya gave the Keynote Address titled “Nation Branding: The Ultimate Challenge for Sri Lanka”. He spoke about the importance of having a positive image for a country, in order to achieve their long-term aspirations. He highlighted the developments taking place in Rwanda, with many positive policies being implemented, in order to shift their image from a war-torn country to a peaceful and a fast developing state. He further indicated that even though countries have made significant progress the world over, there is still much more that needs to be achieved in to overcome the challenges that are being experienced.
The forum was divided into three sessions, with each session being chaired by an erudite resource person who added more colour and value to the event. The first session was themed Serendipity and was chaired by Mr. Dileep Mudandeniya. Mr. Mudandeniya emphasised the need to have strong research capabilities and methodologies that would facilitate future research and publications. The second session: Cosmopolitanism was chaired by Ms. Anuradha K. Herath – the Director General of International Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office of Sri Lanka. She highlighted the importance of communication in presenting the research conducted. She emphasised the need to understand the audience in order to convey the findings of the research. The final session themed under Resilience was chaired by Major General DBSN Bothota RWP RSP USP psc who is presently serving as the Commandant of the Officer Career Development Centre – Buttala.
The main objective behind this initiative was to cultivate a research culture among undergraduates and to build competence in research. Accordingly, a total of twelve research papers were presented in all three sessions which will be published in an edited volume.
The event was an ideal platform for the undergraduates to improve their knowledge and skills in many ways under the constant guidance of the Chief Organiser of the IR-SRF and Senior Lecturer – Dr Sanath De Silva and the academic staff at the Faculty Defence and Strategic Studies. The Research forum successfully provided opportunities for the undergraduates to network and hone their skills to suit their future careers.
