The 14th Conference of SLAIHEE was held, with over 100 enthusiastic participants, at the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Innovation (CETLI) of the Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC), TRACE Expert City, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka on 26th July 2018.The Keynote Speaker was Professor P.S.M. Guneratne (Vice-Chariman, UGC) who delivered a very inspiring keynote address. Very lively discussions took place following the keynote and the 19 papers that were presented.
CETLI has been set up to improve skills and performances of educators across the education sector, and will strive to enhance quality and effectiveness, inducing modern teaching techniques and principles through a series of courses, workshops, conferences and one-on-one communication. 2018 conference aimed to look back on improvements made towards skilling graduates, and was therefore organised under the theme “Creating graduates for positive change: the evidence of changed perceptions and practices”.
This reflection is timely as this year marks the completion of 20 years since the establishment of university staff development in Sri Lankan state sector universities, which took place when the first Staff Development Centre was established at the University of Colombo in 1997 with Prof Suki Ekaratne as its Director. SLAIHEE was established a few years thereafter.
The conference theme addressed through oral presentations, and discussions, which presented evidence leading to graduate improvement, as carried out by higher education personnel in Sri Lanka.