IMechE Southern Asia Region Meets in Colombo, Sri Lanka

After prolonged travel restrictions due to COVID-19, the IMechE Southern Asia Region (SAR) organised an in-person meeting on 20 December 2021 at the Hotel Galadari, Colombo.

The event was a full-day event packed with a brainstorming session and a site visit to the Port City project Colombo in addition to the regular SAR committee meeting. The objective was to break the adversity of COVID-19 restrictions and to plan the future course of action for the region. Delegates from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka actively participated while some members joined online as it was held in hybrid mode.

Brainstorming highlights

The brainstorming session addressed three key areas of concern to SAR; Membership development, Young member strategy, and Enhancing value to its members. SAR has over 800,000 students graduating every year in mechanical engineering or related disciplines which is a huge opportunity for the Institution for membership development. Key barriers to membership expansion, conversion, and retention were identified as the increasing subscription fee which is further fuelled by inflated exchange rates and the availability of memberships in other international professional bodies at a relatively low fee. Several solutions including improving visibility via social media, having mentoring programmes, SAR level grants, and more professional development opportunities were suggested to address the barriers. The session was very interactive and informative yielding a lot of positives.

Port City visit

The event concluded with a visit to the Port City Colombo, a project of 269 hectares of reclaimed and developed land. It is an extension of Sri Lanka’s vibrant commercial capital, Colombo. Port City Colombo will be South Asia’s premier residential, retail and business destination. The project is undertaken by an affiliated company of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC).