The opening ceremony was declared opened by the Chief Guest Eran Wickramaratne, Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development. The Chairman, University Grants Commission, Professor Mohan De Silva also graced the occasion as a Guest of Honour.
Thusitha Wijayasena Chairman/CEO of Kandy City Centre, the Principal of Nalanda College Ranjith Jayasundara and guests from Future Minds Sponsors were among other distinguished guests present at the event.
Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne speaking said that Sri Lanka is moving towards a service and manufacturing based economy from an agro based economy and the higher education systems needs to cater for that to compete with the larger South East Asia region.
Professor Mohan De Silva stressed the need to develop mechanisms and tools for quality higher education and performance based assessment systems for universities and the important role of strong public and private sector partnership to develop the higher education system.
Future Minds features an education sponsor panel consistmg of 8 top private higher education providers. The expo is also sponsored by a bevy of commercial sponsors.
The exhibition has a strong focus on higher education and encourages school leavers to build solid careers with a strong foundation of a higher education. The expo is family oriented and invites parents to accompany students and make a productive visit to Future Minds.