Akib Arshad, Final Year Management Undergraduate, has been selected as the only SPARKS – Unilever Student Ambassador of University of Sri Jayewardenepura for the year 2014/2015 among more than 500 applicants.
The “Sparks” programme is an ambassadorship that will serve as an opportunity for students to act as a liaison between Unilever Sri Lanka and their respective university. It is the first ever Unilever Student Ambassadorship Programme in South Asia.
The programme is designed to allow students to exhibit their strength as leaders in their institution, by being ambassadors of Unilever. And it looks to enhance the pioneering spirit and skills of talented Sri Lankan youth, inspiring them to be forces of positive influence amongst their peers.
The “Sparks” programme provides students an opportunity to experience a flavor of ambassadorship through their experience of working at Unilever. This exposure will help the students to develop themselves in key skill areas such as negotiation, stakeholder management and team working, while strengthen their professional networks.
“At Unilever Sri Lanka, we consider it as our responsibility to strengthen the employability of the nation’s future leaders. The “ Sparks” Programme will recognize the top young talent from around the country who have the passion to Want More, Do More and Contribute More, to become great leaders who act as agent of positive change in their respective fields,” said Udayan Dutt, Director – HR and Corporate Relations at Unilever Sri Lanka, commenting on this initiative.
The Youth Forum was put on platform by Unilever Sri Lanka under the theme of “ Sustainability in Leadership” hosted by the Unilever Global CEO Mr. Paul Polman, which was held at Cinnamon Grand on Last December. The Vice Chancellor of University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Professor Sampath Amarathunga was also joined for the event along with the other participants.
