UCL conducted the Certificate Awarding Ceremony of their unique UCL International Foundation Year (UIFY) programme, which is a globally recognized one-year pre-university UK qualification, that provides the widest choice of pathways to universities locally and internationally. Dr. Harsha Alles, Director of UCL and the Chairman Gateway Group of Companiesgraced the occasion as the Chief Guest.Proud parents, facultyand management also attended the ceremony to recognise those who successfully completed the programme Dr. Alles in his address congratulated the recipients and said “.

The UIFY programmehas given a strong foundation and prepared you to be successful in gain entry to top University degrees and thrive in university studies.This is your stepping stone into the world of higher education .You have gained the knowledge and skills needed to pursueacademic programmes, and this Foundation programme has a strong link to the degree you want to progress into. You have completed the type of assessments that willprepare youfor your next stepand you have learned to think like university students at an early age.I wish you all the besttowards achieving all your dreams and goals with confidence.”

The address was followed by the presentation of graduates receiving their certificates from Dr. Harsha Alles - Director, Mr. Gihan Silva - CEO, Dr. Dhananjay Kulkarni - Dean of Academic Affairs and Mr. ThepulGinige - Programme Coordinator UIFY. The event concluded with the speech by the Valedictorian of the year, Dinu Rajendran who recounted to the audience the exciting and fulfilling journey she embarked on with UCL and said “Apart from all the good things that symbolizes. the joy we have in celebrating how far we’ve come, this day reminds us to reflect upon that part of the journey that lies ahead”.

Dinu, a past pupil of Gateway College Colombo, excelled in the UIFYprogramme achieving Distinctions in all eight subjects.She is now pursuing the BA (Hons) International Business degree from the University of Central Lancashire delivered at UCL. The importance of this one-year programme is that it is designed to fill the gap between a student’s current level of qualification and knowledge attained at school and the level needed to be admitted to a Bachelor’s degree at an international university.

Structured with a strong emphasis on the development of both academic and soft skills.it focuses on honing the critical thinking and independent skillsets of students to get them accustomed and well prepared for universityadmissions and helping make the transition from secondary school to university education as seamless as possible. The UIFY curriculum comprises of six compulsory units that include Business, English, Computing, Mathematics, Communication and Culture Studies. Elective modules focus on further strengthening the knowledge of computing, programming, business, accounting and economics.

Soft skills fulfil an important role in the programme, in shaping personalities and acquiring the adequate skills beyond academic and technical knowledge. From Communication, Decision-making and problem solving, Self-management, Teamwork, Professionalism and Leadership, the programme is tailored to produce students with theknowledge, skills and competenciesto become game changers and leaders in the future. All this is backed by best practices, a committed team of academic professionals and classroom teaching supported by comprehensive study materials and resources. Students successfully completing the programme, can enter into the first year of the internal degrees awarded by the University of Central Lancashire ( UClan) at UCL or transfer their credits to enter into top ranked universities in the UK, Ireland , Canada, USA Malaysia and Australia.

Most of the graduating students have already commenced their International Business degree at UCL, and are hoping to complete their degree in the next 3 years here in Sri Lanka. With a programme that not only prepares students for undergraduate studies but empowers them with a holistic foundation of both soft skills and knowledge to succeed later in life, UIFY sets the stage as the stepping stone that paves the way to gain guaranteed entry and seamlessly integrate towards studying for globally recognized top ranked degrees in Business and IT at a world-class university right here in Sri Lanka at UCL.