In compliance with the project deliverable WP3.3, the University of Moratuwa (UoM) conducted two
multiplication training sessions on ‘Soft Skills building’ for two groups of non-academic staff of the
University. The first session was held on 14 th March 2024 at the New Classroom Block, UoM covering the
aspect on “Communication Skills” while the second session on “time Management” was held on 15 th March
2024 at the Non-academic Staff Development Cell of UoM.
The Administrative/Financial officers of UoM who have been trained as trainers at the transnational training
programme on “Soft-Skills and Diversity” held at the Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal in
November 2023 were the resource persons of the two sessions. The knowledge and skills gained by them on
the transnational training programme have been used to plan and prepare the multiplication training
sessions including preparation of the training material.
The session on “Communication Skills” was conducted by Mr. Dishan Jayantha, Registrar &
Coordinator/ENACT at UoM. The staff who regularly interact with the external and internal customers have
been selected as participants in the training session. Accordingly, the staff of the Security Division,
Marshals, staff from the divisions of General Administration, Capital Works & Services, and Finance, for a
total of 30 non-academic staff members have been trained at the session. The session was followed by a
group activity where the participants were given different case studies to discuss and propose effective
communication strategies to address the given practical scenario. The group leaders presented their findings
and feedback was given by the resource person on their presentations.
The second session was based on “Time management” which is another important soft skill that the
participants need to get trained on was held on 15th March 2024 at the Non-academic Staff Development
Cell of UoM. Ms. Dineshi Nandasena/Deputy Registrar conducted the session by giving special attention to
prioritizing tasks, allocating time efficiently, and meeting deadlines, resulting in improved productivity and
reduced stress at work. A total of 32 non-academic staff members representing the Divisions of
Examinations & Registration, Capital Works & Services, and Finance attended the training session.
At the end of each session, the participants were given the opportunity to get their matters related to
Communication Skills and Time Management clarified from the resource persons through a Q& A session.
Feedback of the trainees on the sessions were obtained through a questionnaire developed by the ENACT
team/UoM to evaluate the session with respect to the clarity of the content, relevance, organizing,
preparedness of the trainers, time allocation, applicability of the content to the duties, trainee engagement,
and overall effectiveness. 100% of the participants of the session on ‘Communication Skills’ were
agreed/strongly agreed that the session was effective in overall while 97% of the participants of the ‘Time
Management’ session agreed/strongly agreed on the overall effectiveness of the session. The comments and
the feedback received for each session will be progressively used in developing the forthcoming training
sessions.
The training sessions were organized and coordinated by the ENACT team of the University of Moratuwa.
