The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) alumnus Shahen Avinesh Amaratunga was awarded “Alumnus of the Year 2016” for designing and developing an environmental sustainability standard for Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings at the UNMC’s Alumni Laureate Awards Dinner recently.
Since his graduation, Shahen has worked for MAS Holdings, one of the world’s most recognised designed-to-delivery solution providers in apparel and textile manufacturing.
The standard is also shared globally through the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a global round table for sustainable apparel manufacturing.
“My studies at University of Nottingham helped me 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 USD1.6 Billion”.
“My task was to ensure that we manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Shahen during the presentation of the award.
He is currently a member of the MAS Biodiversity team tasked with reforesting Sri Lanka where he designed a carbon calculation tool for MAS that is available to individuals too.
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 he served in the position for three consecutive years due to his outstanding leadership qualities.
He also represented the UNMC Chemical Engineering Department at the iChemE games hosted by NUS-Singapore in 2009, captaining the Ultimate Frisbee Team who then became the champions.
“Graduates such as Shahen are a concrete affirmation of the quality of our graduates”.
Even as a student he was involved in the accreditation process with professional bodies and standards body,” said UNMC CEO and Provost Professor Graham Kendall.
The Alumnus of the Year award was presented at the Alumni Laureate Awards, which is an annual event to recognise outstanding alumni, that also provides a networking platform for graduates of The University of Nottingham.
The awards dinner was hosted by Vice Chancellor of The University of Nottingham Professor Sir David Greenaway and Professor Graham Kendall.
Attendees at the event included the former/Founding Chairman of Crops for Future Research Center Dato’ Zainal Abidin Haji Ahmad, Deputy Vice Chancellor of The University of Nottingham Professor Karen Cox, and friends of Nottingham University from Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
The University of Nottingham has more than 250,000 graduates in the alumni community, a global family originating from the foundation of the University in 1881. Approximately 5 percent of the alumni members are Malaysians.
Famous alumni include DYMM Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Sultan of Perak Allahyarham DYMM Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah, Former Agong and Yang Di Pertuan Negeri Sembilan Allahyarham DYMM Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Al-Marhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, honorary graduate and Nobel Laureate for discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging Sir Peter Mansfield, author DH Lawrence, pharmacologist and inventor of ibuprofen Dr Stewart Adams OBE, and CEO of GSK and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham Sir Andrew Witty.
The University of Nottingham was named as the best university in the UK for graduate employment, according to the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, which was announced on September 23.
(Article image caption: Professor Sir David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor of The University of Nottingham presenting the award to Shahen Avinesh Amaratunga)
(Thumbnail image caption: Professor Graham Kendall delivering his speech at UNMC’s Alumni Laureate Awards Dinner )
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More information is available from Amaravathy Sivalingam on amaravathy.sivalingam@nottingham.edu.my, Alumni and Donor Relations Manager or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on +603 8924 8746, josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 30th September 2016