Kingston alumni celebrate partnerships and community in Sri Lanka
Posted Tuesday 4 February 2020
Over 150 alumni and friends joined us in Sri Lanka on the 2nd of February as part of our Kingston Is Global series, and to celebrate our key partnerships with the Asian Aviation Centre, ESOFT, and Sri Lankan Airlines. The event was part of 17 Kingston is Global reunions highlighting the global reach of Kingston University and enhancing our alumni community across the world.
The event was attended by senior academics from Kingston School of Art and the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing. "It was fabulous to see so many of our alumni at the event and to hear their fascinating stories." Lucy Jones, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, shared: "Three key partners in Sri Lanka AAC, ESOFT and Sri Lankan Airlines were in attendance and it was particularly rewarding to find out that some of our graduates from AAC were now working for Sri Lankan Airlines!"
Kingston University originally collaborated with the AAC in 1997 to offer an undergraduate course in Aeronautical Engineering, and our partnership has now developed to offer BEng(Hons) Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, BSc Computing, and a Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering and Aviation Studies.
The reunion also marked the expansion of Kingston University's partnership with ESOFT Metro Campus, the largest private sector higher education network in Sri Lanka. The partnership will now be delivering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in engineering and computing subjects from Kingston at ESOFT Metro Campus.
Sri Lankan Aviation College - the training arm of Sri Lankan Airlines - is also in partnership with Kingston University to provide a BSc (Hons) Aircraft Engineering top up degree for those who have completed European Union Aviation Safety Agency courses in Aircraft Engineering, to gain academic recognition.
Mangala Gunawardhana was part of the first cohort to study BEng (Hons) in Aircraft Engineering at the Asian Aviation Centre (AAC) in partnership with Kingston University in 2006, and is currently working as the course coordinator and lecturer of the BSc Aerospace Engineering program for the AAC. "I really enjoyed my experience on this course, which really cultivated my passion for aviation engineering. This event has been great to reconnect with Kingston alumni from across the globe, and in particular, speaking to the next generation of students."
We are looking forward to exploring the potential of these partnerships and, although we may be oceans apart, warmly welcome our Sri Lankan graduates to Kingston's alumni family.
