Department of Human Resources Management

Message from the Head of the Department

Dr. A. W. M. M. Atapattu

Senior Lecturer

Welcome to the Department of HRM at the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo. HRM being one of the most important functions in a company, we at the department endeavors to produce graduates who possess knowledge, skills, and competencies to become successful HR professionals who can make a difference in a company through efficient and innovative practice of HRM. We are extremely proud of our alumnus, a very important part of our department, who hold managerial positions in different high-profile companies in the country and continues to assist our undergraduates in numerous ways.

Our carefully developed curriculum covers all aspects of HRM considering the practical as well as the theoretical facets of HRM, while taking into consideration the newest trends in HRM. We have embarked on a well-planned out journey to integrate and collaborate with the industry to provide our learning partners the much-needed exposure to the industry. This include mentoring, shadowing, guest sessions, industry visits, problem-based learning and internships. Our small group of students makes it much easier for us to function as a family and carry out industry collaborations, interact more closely with students, engage in more personalized teaching and learning activities, provide a more effective academic guidance and create a positive atmosphere within the department.

Our dedicated staff has excellent academic credentials and are highly regarded and respected in the area. In addition to their normal teaching and administration work, they also get involved in research, publications and industry consultancy work, which adds value to their teaching while providing a service to the industry. I cannot also forget our non-academic staff members, who are known to be the most helpful and efficient.

Former Heads of the Department

Academic Staff 

Non Academic Staff 

Bachelors of Business Administration (Honours) Degree in Human Resources Management

This programme intends to provide participants with the opportunity to understand Human Resources Management as an integral part of the overall business of an organization. Further, it would create infrastructure for the participants to acquire the competency to relate Human Resources Management with other functional areas of management.

Medals and Awards

2. Link Natural Products Gold Medal by Link Natural Products (Pvt) Ltd.

This award is offered for the candidate who records the highest-Grade Point Average (GPA) considering the overall academic performance throughout the four years. Also, the student shall complete the degree with at least a second-class upper division in order to gain this award.

These awards can exclusively be gained by HRM students passing out from the Department of HRM and both these medals are offered at the annual general convocation of the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo.

Diploma in Human Resources Management (DHRM)

Contact Details

Mr. Yohan Perera

The DHRM Coordinator

We-Achieve Programme

The Department of Human Resources Management offered and organized a short course named ‘We-Achieve’ under the patronage of Airtel Lanka Limited, with the intention of uplifting the modern corporate necessities of students to take on the challenges of the corporate world for them to be successful corporate professionals. The short course was opened for all second-and third-year students of the faculty and over 100 students registered. The course commenced on 11 November 2021 and successfully completed in March 2022.

The resource persons of this course were;

• Peter D’Almeida (Head of Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning)
• Nalaka Hewamadduma (Leadership Coach and the Founder of Nalaka H. Consulting),
• Sanjeev Jayarathnam (Transformational Coach & Corporate Trainer)
• Sanath Mahavithana (Head of Ayubo Life)
• Manosh Kulasena (Founder – Mani Talks Mani)
• Kumar De Silva (Personality Development and Corporate Trainer)

The following areas were covered in the course.

• The corporate world and the young graduate
• Leadership in modern workplaces
• Mindfulness (mental wellbeing)
• Financial wellbeing
• Corporate etiquette

I-Achieve Programme

I-Achieve is a special soft skill development programme conducted by the Department of Human Resources Management exclusively aiming the undergraduates specializing in human resource management, where they are provided with various opportunities to develop themselves personally and professionally.
The program was initiated in 2019 and the first batch of students completed the program successfully. However, due to the pandemic, the programm was executed in a fully-virtual setting in 2020 and 2021.
Nevertheless, even amidst many challenges, the I-Achieve 2022 was successfully held from 7 February to 10 February 2022 at Faculty premises with onsite participation of both third and final year undergraduates. More than 60 undergraduates attended all 4 days and at the end of the workshop series, undergraduates who successfully participated in the program were awarded valuable certificates.
The 4 day program entailed the following, to ensure that the participants gain valuable insights and training for both personal and professional development. We also made sure that the students have fun and enjoy this brief break they had from online learning.

Scholarship Schemes for HRM Undergraduates

As a socially responsible entity, the Department of Human Resources Management, University of Colombo, is always mindful about the personal needs of our students. Hence, with the intention of assisting our students who need extra help, the department initiated 6 scholarships for its undergraduates under two main schemes.
• HRM Alumni Association Scholarship for HRM Undergraduates
Under the full financial sponsorship of HRM Alumni Association, one scholarship for the amount of LKR 5,000 is granted to a needy student on a monthly basis until the particular student sits for the final examination.

• HRM Academic Staff Sponsored Scholarships for HRM Undergraduates
Under the full financial sponsorship of 5 academic staff members of the department, 5 scholarships are offered as follows.

1. Mr. J. M. Wanninayaka Memorial Scholarship – 1 scholarship
2. Mr. D. A. Premasiri Memorial Scholarship – 1 scholarship
3. Hope Scholarship – 1 scholarship
4. Sustainable Future Scholarship – 1 scholarship
5. Mr. T.B Herath Memorial Scholarship – 1 scholarship

Under these scholarships, 6 needy students will be given an amount of LKR 5,000 each month.

The selection of students for the scholarships are executed through a transparent and fair process.

Laptop Lend

‘Laptop Lend’ is another social responsibility initiative of the department. With the assistance of the HRM alumni of the department, a laptop was lent to a student who needed one to continue her studies uninterruptedly during this difficult time. Once the student passes out, the laptop will be lent to another needy student in the department.

Armonia: HR Revival Day

Maintaining the active involvement of students in virtual learning still remains unresolved. The HRM undergraduates who are now in semester VII (final year) did not get any chance to orient with the department’s staff members after they arriving in the HR family. Due to this reason, the Department of Human Resources Management organized and successfully conducted a virtual fun day on 30 September 2021 from 2.30 p.m onwards taken part by both staff members and undergraduates with the purpose of getting familiarized academic staff members and undergraduate students with each other.

The department usually conducts a mini inaugural ceremony in each year to welcome new comers to the department and this can be introduced as the virtual mode of that ceremony. On the other hand, these new comers to the Department of Human Resources Management had to commence their academic activities in a full-virtual setting due to the COVID 19 pandemic situation. Hence, it was organized a fun day with lot of fun activities by actively participating by both staff members and students.
The event consisted with 5 events namely; Birth Map, Guess “What”, Guess “Who”, Quiz, and Five Sentence Speech. Also, (retired) professor Nimal Navarathne sang a Japanese song by adding more colors to the event. At the end of the event, all staff and student members posed to a virtual photograph on Zoom and attendees witnessed that the event was so fun, interactive, and insightful.

HEART – HR round table

HEART is the series of sessions the department conducts on matters related to research as a means of knowledge and experience sharing. Over the years, numerous sessions were held on different topics related to research. 2022 started with a new series of sessions being organized under HEART to share knowledge about different and popular theories used in management. As identifying a suitable theory is an area that many researchers/research students struggle with in designing their research and analyzing their findings, this new series was accepted with much enthusiasm by academics, researchers and students. The first in the series was conducted by Dr. Seuwandi Ranasinghe on Feminist Theory: Intersectionality and postcolonial developments.

HR Quarterly

This is an online quarterly newsletter which is published by the Department of HRM. The purpose of this publication is to enhance the intra-department collaboration between staff and students by creating a common platform for knowledge and experience sharing, appreciations on each other’s milestones, sharing departmental news, and providing an avenue for students to present their creativity. Furthermore, a selected top ranked HR professional features in each quarter with a guest interview, together with ‘a chat with a student’, ‘get to know your lecturers’ also featuring in the newsletter. The publication is also committed to sharing upcoming trends in the field. The newsletter is distributed online and is posted on the official Facebook page of the department for anybody to view. 

HRM Alumni Association

HRM Alumni Association

The Department of HRM has successfully initiated its Alumni Association in April, 2021.

The specific purpose of setting up an alumni association for the Department of HRM is three-fold;

1. To set up a social network among our past students of the Department of HRM.
2. To incept a discussion among us about recent trends, improvements, updates of the industry by sharing our views and knowledge with each other.
3. To develop a job network facilitating the career advancement of both undergraduates and past students

The Board of Administrators (BOA) of the alumni association (appointed at the inaugural meeting, for two years, from 2021 to 2023 held on 7^th April 2021);

• President – Mr. Kanishka Ranaweera
• Vice President – Ms. Shenali Guneratne
• Secretary – Ms. Ishara Wiskremathilaka
• Treasurer – Ms. Dushanthi Weerasekera
  

Appointed members (appointed at the inaugural meeting, for two years, from 2021 to 2023 held on 7^th April 2021);

• Dananja Wanninayaka 
• Kanishka Patternot 
• Vimukthi Gunarathna 
• Eranga Ranansinghe 
• Chandima Gayan 
• Sanuja Kalhari
• Dinusha Athulathmudali 

Hence, the Department of HRM warmly welcomes all its prospective alumnus who earned their Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Human Resources Management to partner with us irrespective of their passing out year or graduation year.

If you need to become a member of the alumni association, please fill the following form by clicking on the link below.

https://forms.gle/RQFvWVPvNHNVuTrq9

Back-to-Faculty 2020

The department of HRM also took the initiative in organizing a ‘back-to-faculty’ event for the past students of Faculty of Management and Finance, for the first time in the faculty history, providing them with an opportunity to reminisced on the good times they had at the faculty and to see their batch mates again. This fun-filled and colorful event was held on 31st January 2020 at the faculty premises with the participation of 282 past students.

The Freshers’ Welcome