Enhancing Governance, Management and Reform in Sri Lankan Universities through Non-Academic Staff Training

Currently, a number of programmes are in place in Sri Lankan universities to improve quality in the higher education sector. Due to limited resources and financial austerity, however, very few of them pay attention to improving the qualifications and skills of non-academic staff. This capacity-building project addresses this issue. It is a joint initiative of 6 Sri Lankan universities, 4 EU universities and one non-academic partner. The University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Higher Education have joined as associated partners. The project’s overall objective is to enhance the governance, management and operation of universities in Sri Lanka by building the knowledge and skills of non-academic staff, in view of enhancing organizational performance and supporting current and future modernization efforts and reforms in higher education. The specific objectives are:1.To enhance Sri Lankan Universities’ knowledge and good practices base in key areas of governance and management2.To improve through training and international exposure the knowledge, skills and attitudes of non-academic staff in the partner universities 3.To put in place institutional strategies and support structures in the partner universities, enabling a long-term commitment to the training and professional development of non-academic staff.4.To provide recommendations for actions applicable to the national higher education system and to inspire other universities to develop adequate plans for the professional development of their non-academic staff.Planned activities include:-development of training curriculum focused on university administration, internationalization in higher education, financial management and auditing, soft skills, Equality and Diversity-training of trainers in transnational format-local multiplication trainings (for around 180 non-academic staff)-creation of Non-Academic Staff Development Cells-development of university strategies-dissemination activities