Both print and electronic media have given extensive publicity and coverage of the new appointment of Dr Gunathilake Tantirigama (Dr GT) as the new Chairman of the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) - a premier business school with its legacy spanning over five decades in the business of training and development. This article highlights the daunting tasks that he is expected to discharge amid the numerous challenges and opportunities since the advent of the new government. In fairness to Dr GT, a quick reference to his academic credentials and track record will first be assessed to justify his appointment. Secondly, NIBM has a mammoth task of producing the much-needed manpower for the 21st century, and Dr. GT's capability could then be reasonably judged in light of his achievements.

Part I: Quick Visual of Credentials

Dr. Tantirigama brings with him a wealth of experience to the NIBM in an array of multifaceted roles such as principal economist, senior analyst and economic statistician. He had been a Dean, Head of Department, post-graduate director and the director of the Institute providing leadership to faculties, departments and postgraduate programs in local and overseas universities. He has earned a name for establishing international links with foreign universities, funding arrangements and scholarships.

His competency in teaching microeconomics, macroeconomics, managerial economics, and research methods to undergraduates and postgraduate students is well-recognized. Being a director of postgraduate programs and the services offered to various universities as a senior consultant, he has played an integral role by offering support, experience and knowledge to innovate B.Sc/M.Sc/MBA/ PhD programmes. His employment career as an academic and a consultant spans over five decades in that he has worked as a Principal Economist at the Ministry of Transport, New Zealand, Senior Economic Statistician at Statistics New Zealand, senior consultant in charge of PhD management programmes at the Faculty of Management Studies at Rajarata University.

He was the pioneering Dean of the School of Business at the National School of Business Management (NSBM) and a lecturer in economics at Lincoln University, New Zealand. He had the distinction of being the pioneering programme Director in charge of the M.Sc Management and MBA programmes of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. A remarkable contribution rendered by him to research academic literature was that he had authored well over twenty-five research publications. Dr GT has authored and published several textbooks in the field of economics that are extensively being used by university students for their graduate and postgraduate programmes.

His consultancy profile is also equally impressive in that he has undertaken more than ten consultancies both locally and internationally. Prominent among them were the consultancy services he offered to a New Zealand-based leadership training academy called New Horizons Education Training and Research Institute, service offered as the subject matter expert to compile a Tourism Satellite Account pilot project at the Ministry of Tourism, Fiji jointly funded by Fiji Government and New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID). As a senior consultant, he has engaged himself in research projects on the economic implications of HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka funded by the UNDP, the Ten-year Tourism Master Plan funded by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the UNDP and senior consultant for the study on the economic and financial performances of Public Manufacturing Enterprises of Sri Lanka funded by the World Bank.

He also offered service as a senior consultant to the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP) funded by USAID. As regards his academic achievements, his excellence in the field of basic and post-graduate qualifications is equally impressive. Having obtained his honours degree in economics from Vidyodaya University (subsequently renamed as University of Sri Jayawardanapura), he obtained two masters level postgraduate Qualifications, one from the University of Moratuwa on town and country planning (MSc T&CP) and other from Leuven University, Belgium MSc (Economics).

In addition, he obtained two postgraduate Diplomas - one in population studies from the University of Colombo and the other in Applied Social Statistics from the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. He has also completed a certificate course in economics at Lincoln University, New Zealand. He was also the recipient of the Certificate in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Modelling in Singapore. He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Delhi, India in 2001. Besides, he holds membership of the Institute of Town Planning of Sri Lanka (MITP-SL), New Zealand Association of Economists, and International Input-Output Association in addition to being the former Chair of GCE New Zealand Modelling Above all, he is a creative leader and a team player and an innovative thinker who has earned a reputation as a lateral thinker.

He was the live wire behind the successful completion of the alumni get-together of the graduates who passed out from the University almost 50 years ago. He is also instrumental in galvanizing numerous social activities targeting downtrodden community groups. His passion for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and his commitment towards the novel project initiated by the government to hand over a clean Sri Lanka to the next generation is commendable.

Part 11- Challenges Declining Jobs

It is crystal clear that several existing jobs will disappear by the year 2030 and new jobs are emerging at a faster rate with the advent of new technology. It is envisaged that several jobs such as data entry operators, administrative and executive secretaries, accounting bookkeeping and accounts clerks, security guards, building caretakers and housekeepers, cashiers and ticket clerks, material controlling and stock recording clerks, assembly and factory workers, postal service clerks, bank tellers, shop sales persons, telemarketers and customer service workers etc. will disappear or become redundant in current job profiles.

This is a reality which cannot be challenged or avoided. NIBM has a proud history of producing much-needed professionals for the public and private sectors during the last five decades and these course curriculums would become obsolete unless NIBM brings in far-reaching changes to the course modules for the benefit of the new generation in line with the emerging trends of the labour market. Guiding the NIBM to explore opportunities in this transition period could be one of the herculean tasks for the incoming chairman.

Growing Jobs

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2023 documented a list of growing jobs within the next five years. It is the task of the incoming chairman to ensure that NIBM is capable of introducing training programs for vocational education teachers, business development professionals, university and higher education teachers, electrotechnology engineers, special education teachers, digital transformation specialists, sustainability specialists, and digital marketing strategy specialists.

According to the WEF, the most rewarding careers would be artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, data science and analytics, cyber security experts, environmental scientists and engineers, renewable energy specialists, healthcare professionals, tech and innovation management, biotechnology and genetics professionals, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) and entrepreneurship and start-up specialists. His Excellency, the President, has launched an ambitious programme to digitalize public sector functional activities for which the services of specialists will be required to galvanise this project. The NIBM has a cardinal obligation to extend its utmost support to the government in the realisation of the noble objectives of the digitalisation programme by producing the expertise needed.

4 Cs – 21st Century Skills

The following 4C skills will be extremely helpful for NIBM to revisit its existing training programmes and ensure that the aforementioned four prerequisites have been sufficiently addressed in their training programmes.

Outcome-Based Learning

This article would be incomplete if the importance of Outcome-Based Learning (OBL) is not emphasized. The traditional assessment of students’ and trainees’ competency levels causes inherent agony, hassle, anxiety, and trauma. OBL is an educational approach that serves as the cornerstone of a high-quality education system. It employs multiple styles of teaching and assessment as part of the instructional process. All educational activities carried out under OBL help students achieve their set goals. This novel method is being extensively practised in higher educational and vocational training institutes worldwide. NIBM has been a pioneer in introducing OBL into its teaching methods. However, the education sector in Sri Lanka, at large, is still limited to traditional teaching and assessment methods. These traditional methods do not provide a conducive environment for students to sharpen their skills, foster creativity, or enhance their capacity to succeed in challenging situations. It is strongly suggested that the new chairman place special emphasis on strengthening the OBL initiative across the board.

Foreign Links and Affiliations

As regards foreign links and affiliations, I am aware that NIBM has already established ties with several foreign universities. This has enabled Sri Lankan students to obtain degrees offered by foreign universities while continuing their studies locally. This approach is quite popular as it provides significant monetary savings to students in terms of tuition fees, living expenses, and travel costs. Additionally, the heavy outflow of foreign exchange is averted. This method is practised by many private universities and higher educational institutes based in Sri Lanka. With the incoming chairman’s exposure to affiliations and his familiarity with foreign countries such as Australia and New Zealand, it is earnestly hoped that he will strengthen existing foreign links, introduce new partnerships with suitable foreign universities and educational institutes, and upgrade educational standards for the overall benefit of the country.

Knowledge-hub

Exploring new opportunities, particularly positioning Mother Lanka as a knowledge hub in the Asian region, is another great prospect that NIBM should rigorously pursue at this juncture. This can begin with enhancing the qualitative aspects of academic courses, which have the potential to attract foreign students from the Asian subcontinent. Such an arrangement would also provide an opportunity to generate much-needed foreign exchange for the country.

Introduction of a DBA programme

NIBM possesses competitive advantages, such as the prime location of its main campus and its accessible environment, which ensures that a large professional community can reach NIBM without hassle. The success of the Postgraduate Institute of Management at Lesly Ranagala Mawatha, Borella, is partly due to its prime location. There are a large number of professionals holding senior managerial positions who are keen to gain higher levels of educational qualifications. Many of them dream of obtaining a PhD qualification that would allow them to advance their management careers to the highest level. However, a PhD is a research-based qualification that requires candidates to commit to intensive research, which can be very time-consuming.

The best alternative for such business executives is the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) qualification. By nature, the DBA is designed for busy business executives. There is an excellent opportunity for NIBM to create a platform for business executives to engage in studies leading to a DBA with easy access and proximity to their workplace. Considering the incoming chairman’s previous hands-on experience in designing and launching BSc, MSc, MBA, and PhD programs, it is earnestly hoped that he will give serious thought to this direction and guide NIBM into entering this niche market. Given the authoritativeness and aggressiveness with which Dr Tantirigama has performed exceptionally in his previous positions, I do not doubt that he has the capacity and commitment to position NIBM as a premier training institute in the Southeast Asian region.

J. A. A. S. Ranasinghe
Productivity Specialist/Management Consultant
(Writer could be reached via rathula49@ gmail.com)