Sithira Indula Dewasurendra
Best MIB graduate (2017)
How did you find your degree program? What did you like best about it? What were the challenging aspects of it?
Master of International Business is a challenging, yet a rewarding program. I believe it grooms the students with the right blend of analytical and business skills that can take an individual anywhere in the world. Course content is enriched with contemporary case studies and real-life international business problems that give a true insight into today's globalised business landscape. The lectures take more of a discussion approach where students from various cultural and professional backgrounds contribute with their own perspectives to create a rich medium of knowledge transfer. Assessments are designed to evaluate the students' performance at both individual and group levels, which prepare students to thrive under pressure and also to coordinate within groups to achieve better results.
The MIB program is a holistic experience that transformed my understanding of international business and world cultures. With MIB, I started to embrace and respect different perspectives and cultural values around the world, which I believe, made me a better global citizen. I believe, naturally, the most challenging aspect of any Monash degree is to meet the very high academic standards. However, the MIB lecturers are very friendly and open to consultation where they provide constrictive criticism and feedback for students to further improve.
What made you want to pursue a MIB?
With the world's economic center of gravity moving towards Asia faster than ever before, having a global mindset is very important, especially in this part of the World. Today, apart from the big multinationals, even small and medium scale enterprises are doing business overseas. Because of this, I felt that having a MIB would certainly give me an edge! Even at a very early stage in my career.
Why did you choose Monash to pursue your higher degree?
Simply because of its reputation for producing outstanding graduates who are responsible, critical and creative. Monash has a close relationship with various industries where courses reflect the real-life challenges better, which I believe helps the students to adapt to the workplace faster. Moreover, its global outlook is very favorable and it is certainly recognised around the world for its excellence.
How do you feel winning the best graduate award?
I feel rewarded for my pledge and dedication towards continuous improvement on feedback that I got from my lecturers, family members and friends. I believe making mistakes and learning from them played a major role in this achievement. The Best Graduate Award was a just a coincidence, I was always focused on doing my best while being passionate about it.
What are your future goals and career ambitions?
I want to focus on experiential learning throughout my career. Hopefully I will be able to make the most out of the knowledge and soft skills that I gained through Monash in the corporate world. I would like not to be too ambitious about anything, yet have a good preparation when an opportunity realizes.