Everyone has a brand, but not everyone’s personal brand is developed to be a strength.  We can take many examples of those who chased after these dreams and succeeded. The most important thing that emerges from their journey so far is how they have made themselves a unique brand outside of traditional thinking. Realizing the value of building their own brand, the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa organized ‘The Image’, a program which was specially targeted the final year undergraduates of University of Moratuwa, who are almost ready to set foot in the corporate world.

“The Image” session was held as a virtual session, as it was not appropriate to hold a physical gathering due to the COVID – 19 pandemic situation. Accordingly, as the third session under “Are You Ready? 2020”, the official carrier fair of University of Moratuwa, this session was held on the 22nd of November 2020 via the zoom platform.

It was a great privilege to have Mr. Dian Gomes, Honorary Consul of Georgia in Sri Lanka, Former Chairman of Hela Clothing and Former Group Director of MAS Holdings, as the Special Guest of the evening. In this discussion, he focused on what we could do as a youth and as undergraduates, to build the economy of Sri Lanka.

His life experience was behind everything he discussed. After taking over as the Cornerman of the Sri Lanka Boxing Team at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1999 and later as the President of the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka, despite various obstacles, especially in the face of unexpected competition defeats and social stigma attached to them, his leadership was able to produce a team that can pursue their dreams and bring glory to Sri Lanka by winning medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. The message he wanted to convey was that in the corporate or entrepreneurial world, one must face challenges and take actions fearlessly at critical moments.

He further made us aware of the importance of an institution that adapts its culture to the changes that happen in a rapidly changing world and the benefits that can accrue to us by adapting ourselves to change. Rather than being a solo player in the corporate world, he spoke about the qualities we need to master to work with different parties as a team, as well as how our personality emerges strongly from it. At the end of the session, a Q&A session was held to answer the questions from the audience, especially for undergraduates.

“The Image” session ended with a participation over 250 undergraduates, and the positive feedback we received showed that the session was instrumental in building their image as a prominent and impregnable figure in the corporate world.