Diary 2006

Sabaragamuwa University Sports Undergraduates trained by Durham University

(10 September 2009)

A group from the Durham University in England are providing practical sessions to the sports undergraduates of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

A team of ten including two lecturers and graduates have arrived in Belihuloya.

Sabaragamuwa University is offering a degree programme in sports for the first time ever in Sri Lanka. It is the first group of students that is being trained by the Durham University for a period of about 1 month.

It is not only training facilities that the Durham University is offering them but also they have donated some sports equipment to the Sabaragamuwa University, Prof. Mahinda S Rupasinghe, Vice Chancellor of the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka said.

“Sabaragamuwa University is offering the first degree programme in Sri Lanka in Sports Management and Physical Education which is a B.Sc. Special Degree. We were able to sign an agreement with the Durham University in England through the University Grants Commission. The objective of this agreement is to improve the quality of the degree programme.

Accordingly, a group of ten including two lecturers arrived and provided the students with training. An English training programme too is conducted parallely. This team from the Durham University conducted a sports training session and an English teaching programme for the school students in the areas of the Ihalagalagama and Puwakgahawela. I consider it as a great benefit for our students to be trained under a team from Durham University which holds higher status in the field of sports education.

The leader of the Durham University training team said that they were quite obliged that they got an opportunity to work with a group of about 200 talented students in the Sabaragamuwa University.