Our introductory workshop for mentors was conducted via zoom on March 25, 2021 with the participation of the members of the Academic Mentoring Committee and other senior faculty members. Prof. Erandathie Lokupitiya introduced the program with an overall description including the key objectives and the expected outcomes. Prof. Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, Leeds General Infirmary and Prof. Pavithra Kailasapathy from Department of Human Resources Management, Faculty of Management and Finance graced the occasion as guest speakers, and gave valuable insights for the program. They explained fundamental principles of the mentoring process and went on to explain the differences between coaching and mentoring. It was explained that mentoring should be a development-focused relationship rather than a performance-focused relationship. The session ended with a panel discussion with Prof. Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Prof. Pavithra Kailasapathy, Snr. Prof. Preethi Udagama, and Prof. Erandathie Lokupitiya as the panelists.

The webinar “To be an Academic" organized by the AMP was held on 12th August 2021 from 4.00 to 5.30 pm. It was conducted by Prof. Emeritus Sarath W. Kotagama to inspire the young academics who are in their early career stage. He enumerated the qualities a budding academic needs to possess. Further, Prof. Kotagama shared the details about his journey as an academic and a researcher including many experiences throughout his career.

The virtual workshop “Navigating the academic path; advice to my younger self" organized by the AMP was held on 6th January 2022. Prof. Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, a well-established academic herself was the resource person of the program. Pathways to academic excellence were a key focus of her presentation. Intellectual curiosity and motivation were delineated as essential characteristics of a young academic seeking academic excellence. The importance of acquiring funds to pursue one’s intellectual curiosity was highlighted in the latter part of the workshop. It was explained with her own experience how challenging it could be for a young academic to secure his or her first grant. Finally, prof. Shervanthi stressed on the vital need for conducting ethically sound research for emerging scientists to have a long lasting carrier. Session ended in a fruitful discussion between the membership of the AMP and the guest speaker.

The AMP educational session on ‘How to set Exam Questions’ was conducted on July 14th, 2022, by retired prof. Dilrukshi de Silva. During the first half of the session, she explained about different types of assessments and aspects needed to be considered when setting up questions for assessments. Similarities and differences between summative and formative assessments, were discussed in detail. She also explained that different tools and methods should be used in evaluating different key skills such as professional skills, factual knowledge, application skills, and reasoning skills. Finally, she underlined the importance of adjusting the difficulty level of a question to match the expected competency level of students answering the question. The session was followed by a lengthy question and answer session which was moderated by Prof. Tara D. Silva. AMP members used this opportunity effectively to get several issues they had regarding setting up exam papers clarified.

The educational session on ‘Academic and professional ethics’ was conducted on November 24, 2022 by retired prof. R.D. Gunaratna. Common sense and basic decency were explained as two essential qualities an academic needs to have when working with colleagues and students. Prof. Gunaratna dealt in detail with aspects related to research ethics covering topics such as giving credit to others, dealing with human subjects, deciding authorship, conflicts of interest and data management. He also explained that striving to provide an excellent service to students is a professional obligation of all the academics. Prof. Gunaratna provided insightful suggestions when asked by mentees on how they should react and respond in certain situations.