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Learning experience to change your path and set forth for an unforgettable exposure

Thirst for knowledge, learning, exploring diversified fields and thirst for the exposure in different arenas led me seek my passion towards exploring a completely new field which broadened my horizons and line of thinking. I still remember the day I came across the advert for the Diploma in Diplomacy and World Affairs offered by the renowned institute of Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) and was eagerly waiting for the course to commence. After going through the names of lecturers and the core modules entailed in the Diploma I knew beforehand that this journey towards learning the integrities and core concepts of becoming a Diplomat and exploring this new aspect will be a remarkable experience. Being a student of BIDTI gave me that very reason to grow my enthusiasm and venture into the world of Diplomacy which entailed a wide scope on International Law, World Economics, International Relations, Geo-Political studies of Sri Lanka and other interesting subjects.


Being a Lawyer, I gained a wide knowledge on marine laws, laws on territories, cross border conflicts and other principles of international law in a sound manner.  I would say this experience and exposure I received was one of a kind because of the composition of the course structure to entail practical as well as theoretical aspects of the subject matters that were taught to us soundly. The practical etiquette and dining experience we received would vouch for that.

The knowledge I had pertaining to this subject matter prior to following this Diploma was minimal, however, at the end of this Diploma I was able to broaden the horizons not only in terms of knowledge but in terms of skills and attitude as well. The esteemed panel of lecturers continuously engaged with the students and lecturers were quite supportive in clearing out the doubts of students pertaining to the subject matter taught in class. We have had interesting discussions, debates, clarifications raised in class which is quite different to how conventional lectures are being conducted. I was awed and amazed to see how my fellow batchmates took part in those discussions and how the lecturers constantly encouraged such discussions.


Being a Lawyer and a freelance corporate trainer working for the corporate sector whenever I sought assistance from the institute pertaining to queries I raised, the administrative staff had always been extremely helpful and willing to support the students in every way in completing this endeavour. Lectures and exams were conducted as per the scheduled timelines which enabled the students to plan, organize and very well prepare for the upcoming exams and lectures. Winning the Lorna Devaraja Memorial Prize and becoming second in the batch was due to the utmost support and guidance received from the lecturers who not only taught us the subject matter but ensured that we brought rational thinking and logic in answering the queries which pre-prepared the students to face the exams successfully. I will vouch for this learning experience to change your path and set forth an unforgettable exposure in the future!

 

SENURI MUNASINGHE

Attorney – at – Law

Masters in Labor Relations and Human Resource Management – University of Colombo

Msc. In Business Psychology – University of Coventry

Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management – CIPM Sri Lanka

Bachelor of Laws (Hons) University of London

Associate of Trinity College of London

Associate of University of West London

Diploma in Diplomacy and World Affairs – BIDTI

Diploma in Strategy & Innovation – HRMI, Sri Lanka

 

 This article was originally published in 'The Sunday Times' Newspaper,16th August 2020.

 

 

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