ALUMNI FOCUS

The grand plan

When Dr Prashan Karunaratne commemorated 25 years in Australia with a LinkedIn post, sharing his journey from Sri Lanka to Australia and his gratitude for the role MQ has played in his life here, he couldn’t have anticipated the overwhelming response it would receive. Still, it reflects the warm regard he is held in within the MQ community, and his story highlights how his experience has informed his teaching of students from different countries and cultures, and gives an insight into what drives him to widen participation in the university space.

 

The transformative power of an education is one of the hallmarks of Macquarie University, as is the real sense of community, and Dr Prashan Karunaratne can attest to both.

Since enrolling in a Bachelor of Economics in 2000, he has gone on to complete a PhD in Learning and Teaching at MQ – incredibly while also completing an MBA from the University of London because, in his words, you can’t do two degrees at once in Australia! – and has held numerous teaching positions.

Now a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, as well as Course Director of the Bachelor of Commerce at Macquarie Business School, these facts alone, however, don’t begin to convey what has kept Dr Prashan here for so long.

‘It’s something that’s quite hard to put into words,’ he starts. ‘There’s a real community feel to Macquarie. It’s why so many people return to the university, and the alumni are so keen to give back – once you become part of Macquarie, it becomes part of your being,’ he says, admitting he didn’t set out to be a lecturer, but his parents and teachers noted early that he was always helping his cousins and friends with their homework or in class, and thought it would be a good fit.

‘Everyone around me figured it out before me,’ he laughs, noting he first started tutoring during his honours year in 2003, then began lecturing at MQ in 2006. But the story also hints at the importance his family, particularly his father, placed on education. ‘It’s why we ended up in Australia,’ he says, ‘My dad had a grand plan for his children’s education – he had it all mapped out.’

After a few years between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia and three years in Fiji, the plan was for the family to take up permanent residency in Australia so Prashan and his sister could access higher education. But it wasn’t a straight line from Sri Lanka, where he was born, to Sydney. ‘That might be why so many people resonated with my story on LinkedIn,’ he says.

 

‘It’s not uncommon for people from South Asia – Sri Lankans, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis – to work in the Middle East after they get married or while their children are young because of the tax-free income, and my parents did the same. It’s also quite common for those of South-Asian background to then migrate from the Middle East to the UK, Canada or Australia when their kids get older and want to attend university.’

What’s not so common, however, is leaving, or planning to leave a country, and your employer refuses to let you go or insists you come back because you’re so invaluable, which is what happened to Prashan’s father – and how they ended up back in Saudi for a second time.

‘I started to realise his work ethic was so respected that people couldn’t do without him. He’s a very honest person, very non-political, and goes out of his way to help others – it’s not so common, especially in the corporate world, so that skillset was really valued; it’s a quality of his I’ve always admired.’

It would seem honesty is a deeply ingrained family trait as Prashan recounts stories of gaining full marks in a test as a young student, only to bring to the teacher’s attention things that had been marked incorrectly. But the best story involves Prashan’s paternal grandmother.

‘It’s a funny story,’ says Prashan with a smile. ‘The second time we were in Saudi, we got caught up in the Gulf War. We were trying to leave, and my grandparents on both sides were very worried – it was a huge war at the time, and no-one knew which way it would go.

‘Anyway,’ continues Prashan, starting to laugh. ‘My maternal grandad pretended to be my other grandad and sent a fax to my dad’s work, saying that he (my grandad) had passed away and we all needed to go back to Sri Lanka straight away for the funeral.

‘My dad’s mum knew about this story but couldn’t go through with it and called them to say it was a lie; she admitted they were just really worried and had made up the story. Anyway, that’s when they reached out to my uncle, who was working in Fiji, to see if he could get my dad a job there.’

Prashan ended up living in Suva for three and a half years, from when he was 9 to 13, and still has a real fondness for Fiji. ‘Some things have never left me,’ he says, and you can see where his openness and friendliness, at least in part, come from. ‘When I get in an elevator at MQ, for example, I will say hi, or have a great day, because in Fiji you say hi to everyone; they’re all just so friendly. I’m a closet Fijian!’ he laughs.

Still, there was one more stop on the family world tour before they finally moved to Australia. ‘My father had secured permanent residency for us in Australia – it was all part of the grand plan, remember – but he didn’t want to come here straight away. He wanted me to complete my O levels, the equivalent of Year 10, and experience the British education system first. So, I spent three years in Sri Lanka before doing the HSC and starting university in Sydney.’

In a twist to the story, Prashan’s dad’s boss in Fiji didn’t want him to leave and convinced him to stay. ‘It was the second time that had happened and was a real spanner in the works for my dad’s plan! He ended up staying in Fiji for another three years, and my mum, my sister and I went to Colombo.’

Finally, however, with his O levels complete, Prashan eventually arrived in Sydney with his whole family. Thanks to his father’s ‘hyper planning on steroids’, which included thoroughly researching all the best schools in Sydney, Prashan received a coveted place at North Sydney Boys High – without even sitting the selective test. Upon arriving in Penrith, however, Prashan declined the offer, and is proud to have attended Penrith High School for Years 11 and 12.

‘I just wanted to go to the local [selective] school,’ he remembers. ‘My dad couldn’t believe it, but in hindsight, I’m glad I did it. Being in Western Sydney and from such a large catchment area gave me a different experience. We were a pretty nerdy bunch, and it was definitely eclectic,’ he says, laughing again, but you can start to see how all these formative educational experiences have led him to where he is today.

‘I definitely credit the way I teach to all my different schooling experiences – I teach very large cohorts of up to 500 students at a time; they come from all around the world and have been to all sorts of schools. I can definitely relate.

‘And, having lived in several very different countries and worked in Singapore and the UAE, it all helps. It shapes your worldview and informs your approach to dealing with students, both as a teacher and in my work, and as a student myself.

‘Everyone thinks differently, processes ideas differently, and everyone approaches things from a different angle. Knowing people all have a different viewpoint based on where they’re from makes you more understanding because you’re used to seeing things through so many different lenses.’

It’s something he brings to his teaching as well, basing how he teaches on what his students already know, and empowering them by incorporating their experiences. It also explains why Prashan champions widening participation in the university space, ensuring those from regional areas and lower socio-economic groups can access higher education too.

‘I’ve always been involved in widening participation initiatives at MQ,’ says Prashan, noting the LEAP Roads program in regional New South Wales and relaying stories of its profound impact. Stories of students who’ve travelled two hours just to get to the roadshow, and others who’ve not only been inspired to go to university after attending, they return to their community as part of another roadshow to encourage others to pursue high education too.

‘I’ve seen the lack of educational access firsthand,’ shares Prashan. ‘Knowing the transformative impact higher education has had on me makes me understand that it could be the smallest thing that inspires a complete change in someone’s life’s trajectory; that’s what drives me.

‘We’re starting to create awareness that university is an option for people from these areas, and we’re starting to make a difference nationally, but there’s more to be done to diversify our student base by cultural, socio-economic and geographic background, so these students can bring their ideas to the classroom too.’

It would seem Prashan’s father’s grand plan has more than been realised, and it must have been a proud day indeed for his parents when both he and his sister graduated from MQ with PhDs on the same day. ‘My father would have been more than happy with a bachelor’s degree,’ laughs Prashan.

Even so, you get the feeling that whatever his family does, they do it with all their heart, with unwavering integrity and with complete honesty. Of course, there’s good humour, too, the ability to tell a great yarn, and an undeniable friendliness. And there’s no doubt Prashan will continue to inspire many more students to not just enrol at university but make the most of the experience – wherever they are from.

 

 

The MQ Widening Participation Unit helps increase access to education and opens pathways to success and progression. To find out more, visit our website, or join us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Macquarie University also offers a range of scholarships tailored to people from many different backgrounds, both domestically and internationally.

 

Award-winning Senior Lecturer Dr Prashan Karunaratne is the Course Director of the Bachelor of Commerce at Macquarie Business School. An inspirational and innovative teacher of economics and business analytics, he inspires students to want to learn and navigate their own learning journey.

Prashan works closely with industry and, in 2020, collaborated with McCrindle on the Lost Business Report for the Business Events Council of Australia. He also works in the Optus U program, training and upskilling Optus staff in Data Analytics and Business Analytics.

Prashan is engaged in several projects across Macquarie University, from helping design the cross-disciplinary Bachelor of Commerce Capstone Unit and engaging in the Widening Participation Unit to helping develop HSC Study Labs – HSC Business Studies and using his research in the area of learning and teaching in business education to run workshops for staff.

He is also a part of the team that designs, develops and delivers the university’s award-winning Excel courses on the Coursera platform, reaching more than one million learners globally through organisations such as the UNDP and UNICEF.

Prashan received a 2019 Australian Award for University Teaching – Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Award and the inaugural Australian Business Deans Council Network Award – Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2020. He was also part of the team that received the 2022 Macquarie University Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Educational Leadership.

Prashan was invited to contribute to a chapter in the European Union, Erasmus+ project Shaping a Sustainable Future – Innovative Teaching Practices for Educating Responsible Leaders, published in late 2022. His research, presentations, and projects can be found here.

Prashan holds a PhD in Management (Learning and Teaching) and a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) from Macquarie University as well as a Master of Business Administration (Banking) from the University of London and a Master of Commerce (Actuarial Studies) from the University of NSW.

He is very active in MQ alumni activities and has participated in several events both overseas and in Sydney, including the MQ alumni meet-up in Vietnam, the International Students Farewell, and the Actuarial Alumni Night in Sydney.