The session done at University of Kelaniya on 11th November.

1. Opportunities in Higher
Education & Career
Guidance
11th
November 2015
University of Kelaniya

2. A bit about me…
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3. Non-profit
Local&Foreign
Graduates&
Undergraduates
Volunteer
Driven
Youthled
We Arehttp://www.sl2college.org/faq

4. Done That,
And Now We Share It!
Been There,

5. OurServices
Online
Forum
Work In Sri
Lanka
Newspaper
Articles
Research
Seminars
Mentor
Program

6. Pursuing Graduate Studies SL2CollegeUniversity of Kelaniya (11th
November 2015)

7. Why graduate studies?
○ An investment for your future
○ More than a qualification
○ You are paid to pursue your interests in more depth
○ Contribute to the world’s knowledge
○ Opportunity to work with the best
○ Gain an internationally recognizable qualification

8. Which graduate degree?
Purpose Path
Pursue a passion for learning and
discovery
Improve career and professional
prospects
Change of career paths
PhD
MSc/MA
MBA

9. Pre-Masters Masters
• Postgraduate
qualification
• Foundation for
a Masters
• Coursework,
assignments,
exams
• ½ time of a
Masters degree
MPhil PhD
What to study?
• Postgraduate
academic
degree
• Coursework/
Research or
both
• 1 , 1 ½ or 2
years
• Post graduate
academic
research
degree
• Awarded to
those who
pursue PhDs
• Research
• 2 – 3 years
• Post graduate
academic
‘advanced’
research
degree
• Research
• 3 – 5+ years

10. • Research not given prominence
• Graduate level specialization
Masters of Science (MSc)
Graduate Diploma/Certificate
(Grad.Dip./ Grad.Cert.)
Masters of Arts (MA)
Masters of Business
Administration (MBA)
• Scientific thesis
• Natural sciences, humanities, business sciences,
engineering sciences, mathematics and
informatics
• Dissertation based on independent research
• Languages, history, geography, philosophy, fine
arts but also social sciences
• Requires several years of work experience
• Finances, human resources, marketing, strategy
and operations management

11. • Analyse a topic already approved
• Well-grounded theory of research methodology
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Masters of Philosophy (Mphil)
• Analyse and understand how to stretch limits of
knowledge
• Contribute to existing pool of knowledge
(original research)

12. Just after Bachelors?
• PhD (gap years can be very
negative in some scenarios)
• Post-Grad diploma/certificate to
identify specialization
• Masters as a job requirement
With work experience?
When to study?
• Masters with a better idea of
specialisation
• Mphil/ PhD after research
• MBA

13. Course
University
Accreditation
Qualifications
Cost
Deadlines
How to apply?
Start backwards;
Application
deadline
Qualifying exam
dates (e.g.: IELTS,
TOEFEL, GRE,
GMAT)
References
Essays
Scholarships
(course/
university/
country/region
specific)
Amount awarded
Qualification
Application
procedure
Visa requirements
and application
Accommodation
Insurance
Research Timeline Finance Travel

14. Enhance your Learning
Focus on original research &
international journal publications.
Learn beyond the lecture halls
E.g. Udacity, Coursera, Free
Online Courses (Stanford,
Harvard,etc)
Practice your theory
Learn passively e.g. Quora
Embrace Opportunity
How to prepare
Subscribe to online communities
• ml-news Google group
• NLPeople
• Sri Lanka AI and ML fb group
Build an open network of connections
Build an online presence
• E.g. Blog, Github account

15. How SL2College can help you? -
Information
Forum:
○ Ask us anything related to higher education
○ Our network of experienced volunteers will find
the answers for you
○ A repository of questions grouped by countries and
type of the question
○ eg: sub-forum “Application process” under the
forum “USA”
Seminars:
○ Events which deliver information on specific topics
○ eg: study opportunities in Australia

16. … Mentoring program
○ Aims to assist Sri Lankan students with
achieving their higher education goals via a
one-on-one interaction with a carefully chosen
mentor
○ helps you in undergraduate and graduate
application process
http://www.sl2college.org/mentor/

17. What is research?
○ “the systematic investigation into
and study of materials and
sources in order to establish facts
and reach new conclusions.”
○ Standing on the shoulders of the
giants

18. … Research collaboration project
○ Goal: to create research opportunities for undergraduates in Sri Lankan
universities through collaboration with Sri Lankan professors, postdoctoral
researchers and graduate students
○ A platform where researchers and undergraduates can share their interests
and find potential matches for research projects
○ A valuable experience to learn how to do research, how to communicate results
to peers.
○ Can result in publications and a good graduate school placement
http://www.sl2college.org/research-collab

19. Thank You
“Go abroad to enrich your life, but always
return. Even if you choose not to return,
never leave”
- Dr.Sanjiva Weerawarana
CEO and Chief Architect of WSO2 Inc.