Deakin University’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations
A celebratory evening was held to mark the 50th anniversary of Deakin University on Thursday, 5th December 2024, at the Emerald Hall, Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Colombo. The event was held with the presence of Mr. John Molony, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice President, International of Deakin University, Ms. Chathurika Bandara, Senior Manager, International Operations of Deakin University, Ms. Dionne Gregory, Country Director for Sri Lanka, agents, institutional partners, and industry stakeholders who have played vital roles in promoting international education over five decades.
In his welcome address, Mr. Molony highlighted the significance of the trajectory of Deakin University in rankings as a leading and dynamic university committed to the community, and balancing teaching and research; “For the first time this year we break the top 200 in the QS rankings so we are absolutely listed among the leading young universities in the world” he commented. Deakin has also been listed top in rankings for student satisfaction; “For the last 14 years we have had very positive feedback through the Australian Government survey on satisfaction among graduates, including international students, who voted us number one for satisfaction among Victorian Universities and normally in the top two or three in Australia”, Mr. Molony remarked.
Deakin has a long and rich relationship with the South Asia region that spans almost three decades. Deakin was the first foreign university to establish operations in India in 1994. Since then, the University have championed initiatives including research opportunities, collaborative centres, international conferences, seminars and more. Mr. Molony elaborated on Deakin’s focus on building deeper connections with alumni during its 50th anniversary and made note of the meaningful ties with the alumni of Sri Lanka.
“As an institution we have a long history of deep connections in Sri Lanka and much of them is thanks to all of you present tonight” he remarked to the gathering in conclusion. The evening was followed by an award ceremony which recognised the remarkable contributions of its partners and agents. The Alfred Deakin Award for exceptional contributions to global education was awarded to International Scholar Educational Services (Pvt) Ltd; whereas Eduko Pathways (Pvt) Ltd, IDP Education, and Australian New Zealand Education Consultant won the awards for ‘Recruiters of the Year’ and Eduko Pathways won the award for Best Course Diversity.
Ms. Wathsala Wijesinghe o f Inter national Scholar Educational Services (Pvt) Ltd received the ‘Agency Superstar’ Award, while SLIIT was recognised as an Institutional Partner and shared the Best B2B Partnership Award with International Scholar Educational Services. Mr. Tiran Jayasinghe from Royal Institute of Colombo was named Partner Superstar, Spectrum Overseas Education Consultancy (Kandy Branch) received the Regional Award, and Eduko Pathways and Lyceum Campus were awarded for outstanding marketing and promotions in the agent/partner and partner/institute categories, respectively. A vibrant networking session accompanied by cocktails continued for the rest of the evening, celebrating the five decades of Deakin University's legacy.
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