Community Service
Rotaract Club of Alumni of University of Moratuwa presented the subproject of DeCovid, ‘The Impact’, a motivational session targeting undergraduates aiding them to have a fresh start after COVID-19 crisis. The session was held online on 16th of September, Wednesday via Google Meet. The resource person for the event was Dr. Sumudu Herath, a lecturer at Civil Engineering Department at University of Moratuwa , he was PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK and also an active member of Rotaract Club of Alumni of University of Moratuwa.
The need for a motivational session arose due to many difficulties faced by undergraduates in their academics due to the pandemic situation. Due to lack of facilities in home environments some undergrads have to cover all the lessons after returning back to the university, some have not attended online lectures and do not have enough time to refer to those lessons now, whilst most struggle with managing time due to piled up practical sessions. Dr Sumudu Herath shared his opinion and remedies that the students can follow concisely during his session.
The summary of the session contents are as follows:
- Tips for managing work and being productive
The use of Trello boards, To-do applications manages the productivity in online work schedules which was the main thing in pandemic era. On the other hand, a person must have a good healthy life with a good sleep to maintain productivity in their day to day life
- Coping with team dynamics
During undergrad time most of the situations in group projects and final year projects the team has to work together to achieve their goal. To achieve that target team has to understand each of the member’s skill set which can be helpful in different manner.
- Emotional regulation and stress management
Stress becomes the most common thing when it comes to exams, final presentations, viva etc. In this situation smart learning is concept which is way better than hard working before deadlines. In this concept, we only need to focus on what we need, what are the things the examiners evaluate and how to present it in a pleasant manner.
- Improve of Self-study / Self Learning
Due to the pandemic situation most of the online courses offer discounts and gives opportunity to do courses free of charge. This becomes a major strength for all the undergrads to improve self-learning by doing courses offered from well-known universities in Sri Lanka.
Based on the overall session our resource person, Dr Sumudu Herath shared his experience on time management, productivity and the way to become a smart learner who can manage extra-curricular activities along with academics. He focused on team management which is more important in group projects and final year projects. He described the online tools which can be used to enhance productivity in studying or in project management. The event concluded with a handful of tips for undergrads and grads to embrace change with courage!
By Rtr. Kavinda Senarathne
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