SLIIT leads in IT related training courses

HIRAN H. Senewiratne

DEGREE COURSES: The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) is the leading Degree Awarding Institute in the field of Information Technology recognised by the University Grants Commission under the Universities Act, its Chairman Prof. Sam Karunaratna said.

He said that to achieve these objectives the SLIIT conducts programmes of studies leading to the B.Sc. Degree in Information Technology, the B.Sc. Special Honours Degree in Information Technology, the Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology and several continuing professional development programmes in niche areas in IT.

Students with three G.C.E A/L passes could enrol for the Bachelor of Science Information Technology (Hon) degree programme and for students who has passed one G.C.E (A/L) subject could register for the Bachelors Degree.

He said that it is also affiliated with the Industrial Financial Systems. The SLIIT is also working with world's largest networking company CISCO. For a year its intake is 500- 600 students and provide software developers to Virtusa.

It has also established the Software Development Centre to undertake software and consultancy services and the Sri Lanka Technology Incubator to undertake and promote research and development in IT.

Presently, the SLIIT operates three campuses and a centre in the Metropolitan Campus at Kollupitiya and the Malabe campus, the Southern Campus at Kamburupitiya and the Kandy Centre at Kandy.

The total enrolment of students at the SLIIT amounts to over 2,750 and within the next two years this number is expected to rise to 3,500.

The SLIIT provides modern facilities for students to pursue their studies. These include air-conditioned lecture theatres, laboratories, auditoria, and libraries, reading rooms, rest areas and canteens.

The computer laboratories comprise PC laboratories, UNIX laboratories, multi-media laboratories, data-communication laboratories, and software development laboratories, project laboratories and postgraduate laboratories.

The libraries hold a collection of books and periodicals covering the entire range of studies offered at the Institute and students have free access to the libraries.

The SLIIT is also planning to award Phds jointly with Australian and UK Universities. Prof. Karunaratne said that Curtain University and Sheffield Hellan University of UK and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University and the Melbourne University are proposed universities.

All students are provided with study material in the form of books compiled by the Institute prior to commencement of classes for each semester. Students are taught and instructed by a highly trained professional staff. All students are provided with free access to computer laboratories and the Internet.

The degree programme of the Institute is designed in such a manner that a candidate has the option of leaving the programme with a certificate, an associate diploma or diploma or proceed to the B.Sc. degree.

Candidates who leave the programme at different levels for employment or for any other reason may rejoin the programme at appropriate levels for final graduation, he said.

For the 2003 intake, all students will be provided with a foundation course designed to improve communication skills, mathematical skills and computer skills of the students prior to their embarking on the degree programme.

The course in mathematical skills will be especially helpful to students who are from the non-mathematics stream and the course in computer skills will be helpful to those who are not familiar with basic computer skills.

SLIIT was established in 1999 to educate and train Information Technology (IT) professionals required by the fast growing IT Industry in Sri Lanka.

The establishment of the SLIIT was spearheaded by the then Ministries of Education and Higher Education, Finance and Planning and the Ministry of Internal and International Commerce and Food.