“KDU Logistics Day 2023” organized by the Technical Sciences and Management Society (TSMS – KDU) of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, was successfully held on the 22nd of June 2023 for the 9th consecutive year. Major General Milinda Peiris RWP RSP VSV USP ndc psc MPhil, Vice-Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, and Mr. Ariyathilaka Wepitiyage; General Manager Operations at Ceylon Biscuits Limited were the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honor of the event, respectively. The event was conducted under the theme of ‘Re-engineering Supply Chains towards Sustainability: Assuring Survival and Coexistence’. Launching the 8th edition of Logistics Times magazine, Sri Lanka’s first-ever logistics magazine, was also a part of the event.
In addition to the enlightening speech given by the Guest of Honor, Mr. Ariyathilaka Wepitiyage; General Manager Operations at Ceylon Biscuits Limited, the panel discussion conducted with industry experts conveyed valuable information to the audience on a variety of topics relating to the theme of the Logistics Day. This panel discussion enlightened the audience as it was about how supply chain contributes to business survival and coexistence through sustainable approaches which is a contemporary requirement of the post-covid era in the business world. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Namali Sirisoma, Director Career Guidance Unit of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, and she conversed with the panelists; Mr. Kamal Geeganage from Ceylon Biscuits Limited, Ms. Anjali Abeysinghe from MAS Capital, Mr. Kanchana Fernando from Nestle Lanka and Ms. Rumal Fernando from Unilever Sri Lanka, bringing out modern industrial knowledge to the event.
The Inter Faculty Article Competition, introduced in order to bring input from multiple disciplines into the theme, was the latest addition to the KDU Logistics Day and took place concurrently with the main event. Certificates and cash prizes were awarded to the winners of the Inter Faculty Article Competition and tokens of appreciation were presented to the Guest of Honor, Moderator and the Panelists of the panel discussion by the Vice-Chancellor. The event marked the conclusion by achieving its primary goal of showcasing the outstanding potential of the undergraduates of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, as well as allowing them to improve their soft skills and preparing them for future professionalism.
Further, this event was participated by the Commander Army Logistics Command and Colonel Commandant of Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Major General Indu Samarakoon, Deans of Faculties, Directors, Heads of the Departments and other academia, military and administrative officers, industry representatives and student representatives from other universities including University of Moratuwa, Ocean University of Sri Lanka and NSBM. With all of these significant occurrences and entertainment items showcasing aesthetic talents of the students which added glamour to the event, the day came to a close with a resounding success of yet another significant annual event of KDU.
