SLIIT’s foreign affiliates conduct student workshops

13-Aug-2010

The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), in association with its prestigious partner universities, recently hosted a series of educational workshops and seminars for students and parents to gain insight into the diverse academic courses and programmes offered by these renowned institutions.

Commenting on the academic backdrop in Sri Lanka, President and CEO at SLIIT, Professor Lalith Gamage stated that “the higher education landscape is going to change, and we aim to provide more opportunities to Sri Lankan students by expanding existing programmes through our partner universities and also enrolling students from other countries. SLIIT is presently targeting students from Bangladesh, and we expect to see a visible growth in our student intake in the years to come”.

SLIIT offers degree courses in the streams of Information Technology, Electronic Engineering and Business Management as well as Masters Programmes in Information Technology, Information Management and Information Systems. Professor S. Karunaratne, Chairman at SLIIT, claims that after two years of study at SLIIT, students are provided with many pathways to complete their studies either in Sri Lanka or have the option of transferring to any one of SLIIT’s partner universities in the UK, Australia and the U.S.A. “We place a very strong focus on professional employment upon graduation, which is why we possess a solid network of foreign and industry affiliations, thereby providing a broader scope for our students’ future prospects”.  

Through these seminars and workshops, SLIIT students were exposed to the diverse academic programmes and curriculums each partner university has to offer. William Campbell, senior lecturer (Engineering Faculty) at Birmingham City University (UK), states that with globalisation and the new trends in social computing, new Multimedia modules are being introduced to cater to growing market demands and student needs. “We have introduced new programmes for SLIIT students to benefit through courses such as Mobile Software Development, and integrate Business modules to these programs in hopes of creating ‘Hybrid Managers’; those who possess both Business and IT skills”.  Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), UK, in formal partnership with SLIIT since 2006, has also been a popular option for students. “Over the course of our collaboration, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of SLIIT students at SHU, and we are very pleased that there are 121 SLIIT students currently enrolled at the university” states Dr. Syed Hasan, Principle Lecturer and International Business Developer at SHU.

Mr. Hamish Davies, Regional Development Manager, Marketing at the University of Tasmania – Australia (UTAS) commented that “UTAS is a research-oriented institute which provides an alternate destination and resources for the benefit of SLIIT students. Our School of Computing laboratory is the only one of its kind in Australia to provide resources that foreign students didn’t have before”. Dr. Stewart Von Itzstein, Program Director for the School of Computer and Information Science at the University of South Australia (UniSA) elaborates that “UniSA has been in collaboration with SLIIT since 1997, and we encourage students to constantly push boundaries, take on challenges and contribute towards making a difference in society”. Glen Meehan, International Marketing Manager at Deakin University articulates the importance of industry placement upon graduation. “The IT programs at Deakin feature industry-based learning, which aims to produce graduates who are employable immediately after graduation”.

The IT degree offered by Curtin University can also be completed locally at SLIIT. “Students now have the opportunity to follow Curtin University’s IT degree programmes in Sri Lanka, or have the option of transferring to Curtin to complete their degree” states Professor Kevin Fynn - Head, School of Electrical Engineering and Computing at Curtin University.

“This year will also see Southeast Missouri State University, U.S.A. enrolling nine students from SLIIT for the Electronic Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Networking and Information Systems programmes offered at this renowned institution”, explains Janaka Herath, Managing Director at Progressive Academy (Pvt) Ltd, one of the pioneers in Sri Lanka which facilitates students’ studies abroad.

The University of Cincinnati (UC) was brought into partnership with SLIIT through the efforts of Sri Lankan representative Priyanthi Dissanayake, (Scholarships for USA (Pvt) Ltd.), who elaborates that, owing to the success of this collaboration, the first SLIIT student will soon transfer to UC to complete his studies.    

Over the years, SLIIT has garnered recognition as one of the foremost tertiary institutions in Sri Lanka, producing a third of the country’s IT workforce and moulding graduates to the task of meeting challenges within the spheres of Information Technology, Electronic Engineering and Business Management, thus marking the institution’s immense contribution to these sectors.

The occasion was graced by many academic dignitaries and representatives from SLIIT’s partner institutions from the UK (Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University), Australia (University of Tasmania, University of South Australia, Deakin University, Curtin University) and the U.S.A. (University of Cincinnati, Southeast Missouri State University).