Sunday Times

7-Mar-2010

As the first point of guiding your child towards IT, you have to be aware of the two major types of qualifications that need to be acquired. Similar to any other field, the qualifications in the IT field too belongs to two main categories; academic qualifications and professional qualifications. Basically, any university around the globe focuses mainly on academic qualifications especially in the field of information technology.

28-Feb-2010

Sri Lanka is at the very early stages of an economic boom and therefore a technology boom, according to Mani Kulasooriya, a Founder / Director of Business Development of the recently launched local IT consultancy Latitude655.

Further, he suggested there was a lack of professional IT services companies to effectively support this anticipated technology boom, noting that the local engineering talent can be currently characterised as 'uncut gems'.

21-Feb-2010

By Natasha Gunaratne

Virtusa Corporation, a global information technology (IT) services company which provides IT consulting, technology and outsourcing services, brought in US$173 million in revenue for the financial year ended March 31, 2009 and is on track for further expansion and growth in the current year.

21-Feb-2010

Volatility, unpredictability and disorder is the order of the proceedings when one looks at business today. This hyper changing environment that brings chaos in our work environments is overshadowed by the fact that one needs to be at peak performance levels to survive. While all professions and professionals add their fair share of competency to the business, there is no question that HR professionals have had a mammoth task during the past two Years.

21-Feb-2010

A product developed by the local arm of US-based software company, Aeturnum Inc., was recognised with a "FAST Innovative Solution Award" at Microsoft's recent SharePoint Conference FASTforward, held in Las Vegas, USA; according to a statement by the company's domestic subsidiary.

14-Feb-2010

Out of 12,000 ex-combatants in the north, both male and female, around 2,000 have opted for IT careers, according to a representative of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Lt. Col. B. Jayathilaka. These ex-combatants will be participating in computer, entrepreneurship and English skills programmes offered as part of the Jaffna Mini Infotel which will be held from February 26 to 28 at the Vembadi Girls' High school in Jaffna.

14-Feb-2010

With the centre of global economic focus moving east with major contributions to the global economy coming from India and China, there is a definite edge for Sri Lanka, according to some education experts.

“Sri Lanka has a place in this equation,” Suthesh Balasubramanium, Chairman CIMA Sri Lanka Governance Board said, adding that Sri Lanka has made a name for its human talent.

14-Feb-2010

A Sri Lankan company announced that it will be launching two products at the Mobile World Congress, widely considered to be the planet's largest mobile industry exhibition; which will be held this week in Barcelona, Spain.

7-Feb-2010

By Quintus Perera

Technology Transfer is an expensive exercise, but participating in exhibitions such as National Engineering and Technology could enable the participants to gain knowledge on new innovations and inventions at a lesser cost, said Prof Ananda Jayawardane, President-Elect, Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) and Chairman, Techno 2010 Exhibition and Awards while declaring the launch of Silver Jubilee Techno 2010 in Colombo last week.

7-Feb-2010

By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera

The country’s strategic location and its island setting has made Sri Lanka well placed to be an international telecommunications exchange centre, with which it can pitch for a premier position as the next knowledge economy hub, according to Priyantha Kariyapperuma, former Director General Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC).

7-Feb-2010

The Association of HR Professionals have set the stage again for yet another roll out of the HRM Awards, a national level corporate event which aims to portray the industry best practices in relation to the human resource function.

31-Jan-2010

Higher education is the single most important contributor to success in life. Higher education leads to better careers and higher earnings. Numerous studies have demonstrated again and again that graduates earn several times more than non-graduates in a lifetime. Not surprisingly, millions of students all over the world pursue higher studies. It has been estimated that there will be 150 million students in higher education by the year 2010. In Sri Lanka too a large number of students aspire for university education. Unfortunately, opportunities for higher education in Sri Lanka are very limited. Less than 3% of students enrol in university education in Sri Lanka whereas the enrolment rate in most developed countries exceeds 50 %.

24-Jan-2010

By Jagdish Hathiramani

While many companies claim to offer digital or web solutions, there are maybe a handful that create a solution that is geared to succeed and meet its clients' ultimate goals, many even outsource the entire development process to third parties since they lack the adequate in-house development infrastructure. This is known to frequently cause a mismatch between what is promised and what is delivered... But one group is trying to bridge this gap and, in so doing, becomes a "digital" agency in the truest sense of the term.

24-Jan-2010

By Kajanga Kulatunga

A stream of reader requests and news of a relative giving birth to a baby boy made me think about the costs of higher education. In my experience only retirement beats the level of anxiety induced in a parent than the thought of securing a sound higher education for their offspring. New research from evolutionary psychology suggests that this anxiety is well placed. After all, the common theme over the last two decades has been that a foreign higher education is a sure way to achieve a better wealth outcome in later life. Therefore higher education appeals to our primal need for security, by way of higher income. Thus, many seem to even go to the depths of incurring serious debt to fund education. Has all this effort paid off and will it pay off going forward?

24-Jan-2010

By Lakshman R. Watawala

In Sri Lanka today around 125,000 students pass the GCE A/L exams but only 20,000 students find places in universities. This is a very pressing problem faced by the youth of this country as only a few could gain entrance to local universities and the cost of entry to foreign universities could only be afforded by a negligible amount of students. Some register for professional courses such as Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, Law, Banking and others which may come to a maximum of another 10,000 – 15,000.

24-Jan-2010

By Natasha Gunaratne

Virtusa, the US-based global information services company founded by a Sri Lankan couple, has launched a massive brand roll-out campaign with an updated logo, brochures and a new tagline ‘Accelerating Business Outcomes’, designed to reflect the company’s world class technical services.

17-Jan-2010

Broadband Internet is gaining popularity at an unprecedented rate and it will not be too long before it is recognized as another public utility, no different to water and electricity. It is becoming increasingly evident that convenient access to information via the Internet is not only helping customers to make wise purchase decisions, it is also opening up a new channel for marketers to promote and distribute their products and service offerings. However it is still a big question as to whether the marketers are fully geared to capitalize on this new marketing opportunity.

17-Jan-2010

The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) breaks through the barriers of academic excellence once again by showcasing Sri Lankan talent to the world. The most recent endeavour includes SLIIT students' performances at the prestigious Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), one of the UK's most progressive and innovative universities.

17-Jan-2010

The winners of the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2009 won special merit awards at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards competition held from December 14-17 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. This competition is annually held at one of the member countries to identify and showcase the best ICT products in the Asia Pacific region.

10-Jan-2010
Prompted by a recent announcement by Sri Lanka's Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) that the country's Cabinet of Ministers had, in early December of last year, finally approved the nation's e-government policy, a process begun at the end of 2004; the Business Times solicited opinions from key IT industry leaders regarding this 32-page document, titled "Policy and Procedures for ICT Usage in Government (e-Government Policy)" and available at www.icta.lk, which will form the backbone for the way forward for ICT in Sri Lanka especially now that it has become mandatory for all government agencies.
According to Virtusa General Manager and SLASSCOM Secretary General, Madu Ratnayake, "it will provide clarity of purpose and gives the implementing agencies the required buy in to drive the initiatives". He adds that "given large scale IT based improvement initiatives is relatively new to some government organization, having a clear policy and stated commitment by the government will help". Additionally, "technology probably is the key government transformational tool that supports the delivery of a superior service to the citizens.

10-Jan-2010

Graduating in early twenties with an internationally recognised degree may sound like a farfetched dream for most Sri Lankan students; but this shouldn't be the case any longer with APIIT-Sri Lanka providing opportunities for enrolment in a British degree programme immediately after O/Ls or A/Ls. APIIT-Sri Lanka offers internationally accredited higher education programmes in Colombo with a view to producing globally competitive graduates who will meet the demands of the modern society and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

10-Jan-2010

An IT exhibition to be held in Jaffna at the end of next month will attempt to "develop ICT and entrepreneurial skills among northern youth including ex-LTTE combatants" through ICT career guidance and lectures regarding ICT usage in the SME (small and medium enterprise) sector, according to a statement by event organiser, the Federation of Information Technology Sri Lanka (FITIS).

3-Jan-2010

The Australian College of Business and Technology (ACBT), since the day it entered the sphere of international higher education in Sri Lanka, has maintained a record for its standing at the top and now stands poised to take on another year of creating world-class graduates. The reputation that the institution has built for itself over a decade today transcends even the seas, with both local and foreign students exploring their potential within its state-of-the-art campus premises in Colombo and Kandy. Backed by the affiliation with global super power Navitas - one of the world's largest education providers, the institution (ACBT) has now commenced taking new enrolments for the first semester of the year 2010.

20-Dec-2009

While 33% of organisations use a twice-a-year evaluation approach, another 60% utilise annual versions, according to an ongoing survey of corporate officers by Sri Lanka's MTI Consulting, which also explores the Human Resources (HR) function of businesses studied.

In addition, HR managers expressed doubts regarding the ability of evaluations to act as true performance indicators. As such, a lot of the time, evaluations are considered mere formalities, done for compliance sake or other superficial reasons, rather than with the intent to improve.

20-Dec-2009

A local ICT conference, scheduled for next week, is set to address the "significant role" of IT as it pertains to "industry, education, infrastructure development, employment and social integration" and related areas, according to a statement by host SriLanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). Incidentally, the event's stated theme is "ICT for National Development and Integration”.