Championing sustainability in Sri Lanka – UNMC Alumnus of the Year
This September, we were proud to present UNMC alumnus Shahen Avinesh Amaratunga with the 2016 UNMC Alumnus of the Year Award for designing and developing an environmental sustainability standard for Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings.
The award was presented as part of the University’s annual Alumni Laureate awards. These awards recognise outstanding alumni from across our campuses, and are presented at special events in Malaysia, China, and the UK.
Developing global standards
Since his graduation, Shahen has worked for MAS holdings, one of the world’s most recognised design-to-delivery solution providers in apparel and textile manufacturing. The standard devised by Shahen is shared globally through the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a global round table for sustainable apparel manufacturing.
“My studies at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus helped me to secure a job as an environmental engineer in one of the most reputed apparel manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka, employing over 85,000 people with a turnover in excess of $1.6 billion,” said Shahen. “My task was to ensure that we manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner.”
Shahen is currently a member of the MAS Biodiversity team, tasked with reforesting Sri Lanka, where he designed a carbon calculation tool for MAS. In 2015, he led a team that reduced 32MW of electrical energy in one week and planted 6,500 trees in a single month. As a student at UNMC, Shahen was elected as student representative for his subject area and served in the position for three consecutive years due to his outstanding leadership qualities.
Quality graduates
“Graduates such as Shahen are a concrete affirmation of the quality of our graduates,” said UNMC CEO and Provost Professor Graham Kendall. “Even as a student he was involved in the accreditation process with professional bodies and standards bodies.”
The award was presented at a dinner hosted by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Greenaway and UNMC's CEO and Provost, Professor Graham Kendall. Guests included the former/founding Chairperson of the Crops for the Future Research Centre Dato’ Zainal Abidin Haji Ahmad, Deputy-Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen Cox, and friends of the University from Malaysia and the UK.
On 23 September, the University was awarded University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. With an alumni community of more than 250,000 graduates, 5% of which are Malaysian, we’re proud of all of our alumni around the world.
Posted on 28th November 2016