Are you a university student who is interested in IT or already following your degree in IT, Computer Science or anything related to that? And are you ready to get SYNC-ed?

Microsoft, the pioneer in the software industry has its students program “Microsoft Student Champs” a one-of-a-kind program that recognizes top young minds that are passionate about technology and have a drive for new ideas and innovations. This Program offers an excellent opportunity for you to get recognized in various Student Communities, the IT Industry and network, interact and further your academic and career development.

International Conference on Advances in ICT for Emerging Regions (ICTer) is the successor to the seminal International Information Technology Conference held in Sri Lanka since 1998, the IITC. It provides a platform where research done in ICT is presented by both local and foreign Computer Scientists and IT Professionals.

Ashan Kumar met Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera Chief Executive / Secretary-General of IDIRIYA to understand how ICT can enable persons with physical and sensory restrictions. Connect with the writer at www.prwire.blog.com

Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera Chief Executive / Secretary-General of IDIRIYA

PC House Limited (PCH) announced the appointment of Deepthi Wickramasuriya as Chief Operating Officer of Procifinity Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of PCH, with effect from 1 September 2010.

Wickramasuriya is a qualified professional in the BPO field having until recently been the Head of Finance, Treasury, Governance, Business Risk and Contracts in Aviva Global Services, the management arm of the BPO operations of Aviva PLC, located in Singapore, India and Sri Lanka. Aviva PLC is the fifth largest insurer in the world and is the majority owner of Sri Lanka's Aviva NDB Insurance PLC.

The Colombo Plan will offer another set of training programs to the Sri Lankan public and private sector in the fields of finance, trade, SMEs development, environment planning, project planning and management and public financial governance shortly.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) intends to engage a consulting firm to assist it in the establishment of the necessary regulatory framework for implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Sri Lanka.

ICBT Campus, one of the leaders in the private higher education sector in Sri Lanka conferred British Higher National Diplomas, Undergraduate Degrees and Masters level qualifications to over 700 students in a graduation ceremony held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on August 26.

MphasiS opened their global delivery centre in Colombo yesterday. Sri Lanka’s Information Technology (IT) industry is playing a proactive role to build the sector and benchmark it in the world, MphasiS CEO Ganesh Ayyar said.

Software freedom is one of the most interesting topic with in the public specially in the time about to commemorate Software Freedom Day 2010. The use and popularity of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) getting increasing day by day, people tend to use them and experience the difference, ease and freedom. In Sri Lanka there are some projects and events are organized related with FOSS.

In celebration of its fifth anniversary, WSO2 the open source technology company, hosts the first WSO2 Conference - WSO2Con 2010 - at HNB Towers, Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 14th and 15th of September.

Annually, about fifteen thousand students graduate from the internal study programs of the State Universities in Sri Lanka. Every year numerous statements are made regarding the unemployability of these graduates, by both the press and the private sector employers.

With a history of unprecedented successes providing Enterprise Agreements (EA) to some of the largest corporates in Sri Lanka, Microsoft Sri Lanka recorded yet another milestone with the comprehensive deployment of Windows 7 Enterprise and Microsoft Desktop Optimisations Pack (MDOP) for Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., one of Sri Lanka's most popular and fast growing cellular networks. 

A selection of high profile delegates and conglomerates from across the Commonwealth are expected to meet at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization’s eighth Annual CTO Forum 2010 to be held from September 13-15 at the Hilton, Colombo. Attending as the special guest of honour, President Mahinda Rajapaksa will open the conference with the theme Broadband Connectivity for All.

There is a high demand for Management Accountants urgently given the economic impetus in the country, University Grants Commission Chairman Prof Gamini Samaranayake said, speaking at the seventh graduation ceremony of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka recently. As such there is a great demand for well-trained Management Accountants in the work force nationally and globally because it is demand driven and based on skilled work, he said.

In the first half this year a 10.8 percent growth was recorded in the mobile phone penetration. The number of mobile phone subscribers during January 2010 recorded 14.13 million and it increased to 15.87 million mobile phone subscribers by the end of June. It accounted for a 1.55 million increase in mobile phone subscriptions during the past six months.

H One Pvt Ltd. a Hirdaramani Group venture was presented the Best Dynamics Partner Award at the recently held Microsoft Partner Awards.

Having achieved Tier 1 partnership with Microsoft within their first year in operation winning this award reinforces the company’s rapid ascent as a leading Microsoft Partner in the country.

For the fourth time since 2005, NetAssist International has been selected as Microsoft's Best Learning Solutions Partner Winner. And for year 2010 /2011 Net Assist International has been recognized as Microsoft Gold Certified Partners for Learning Solutions for year 2009/2010 for the fifth consecutive year. Furthermore being a Sun Oracle Authorized Education Centre Net Assist has won the "Gold partner level" for year 2009.

ESOFT Computer Studies (Pvt) Ltd has obtained the highest possible recognition by being Accredited by the BCS for all three levels of the Programmes. This is indeed a unique achievement as no other organization in the world can claim such a feat.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) last week issued draft guidelines for mobile payments and anticipates public response. Sri Lanka is not the first South Asian country to regulate m-payments, but better to be late than never. As someone rightly noted,in the face of new technologies, if you do not become part of the steamroller fast you will end up being part of the road.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) terms have now been localized to enable Sri Lankans to use ICT in local languages such as Sinhala and Tamil. Gihan Dias, Professor, Dept of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa, and Domain Registrar/CEO, LK Domain Registry said that they have been working over a period of over 10 years to achieve this objective of creating the infrastructure to enable people who are not experts in English to connect with the modern world according to their aptitude and benefit from the latest technology.

Quality is a prerequisite in order to be a valuable player in any business and it has always been the foundation of our business at Eurocenter. We were able to build a world class company because of the quality of our services in the global market, said the CEO of Eurocenter DDC, Mano Sekaram.

The ninth CNCI Achiever Awards 2010 for Industrial Excellence organised by the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) was held last week where 85 industrialists received awards and certificates.

Of the many MBAs on offer today, only a select few will have recognition and demand in the corporate world. CEOs and head hunters are attuned to “quality MBAs” from renowned universities. Therefore, it is important that you choose well and ensure that the time and money  invested give you optimum returns.

OpenArc Industrial Campus launched the Certified Software Engineer course recently to fulfil the demand for software engineers in Sri Lanka and overseas. This is a full-time course that can be completed in 18 months.