Strengthening Industry–Academia Synergy: FMF – University of Colombo Engages with CAREER141

The Faculty of Management and Finance (FMF), University of Colombo, commenced discussions with CAREER141 to explore a structured and sustainable model of industry–academia collaboration.
The initial meeting was held with Mr. Azeem Ansar, Founder & Managing Director of CAREER141 (Executive Head Hunter & Recruiter), together with Ms. Nipuni Senanayake, Senior Executive – People & Culture. The discussion centered on developing long-term mechanisms that strengthen the integration between corporate practice and academic training.
As Sri Lanka’s oldest and leading university, with over 16,000 undergraduates and an impressive 96% employability rate within FMF, the University of Colombo continues to maintain a strong balance between academic excellence and corporate relevance.
The Faculty’s well-structured internship programme, strong industry reputation, and consistent four-year completion structure demonstrate its firm commitment to academic discipline and high performance standards.
Importantly, the dialogue extended beyond conventional internship placements. The focus was on building a more integrated ecosystem that supports:
– Structured industry validation and evaluation mechanisms
– Enhanced corporate readiness and interview preparedness
– Leadership exposure through senior industry engagement
– Scalable and sustainable long-term partnerships
The proposed collaboration aims to incorporate strategic industry insights and corporate-level connectivity into the academic journey, further strengthening graduate readiness and retention outcomes.
FMF looks forward to formalising this engagement and advancing meaningful, sustainable pathways between academia and industry—reinforcing its role as a national benchmark in management education.