Business IT

SLIIT students graduate from Sheffield Hallam University

A record number of students of Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), graduated from Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) - UK, recently.

The thirty three students who transferred to Sheffield Hallam in their final year, as part of the degree programme, recorded outstanding performances, achieving honours degrees in the upper firsts and seconds in Information Technology (IT), Software Engineering and Computer Systems and Technology.

"We are delighted with the exceptional performance of our students and indeed it is a pride to our institute.

This is strong evidence for the precedent we have created for assuring higher education par excellence. I take this opportunity to congratulate our young performers and thank them for keeping up the SLIIT flag flying high" Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SLIIT Prof. Lalith Gamage said.

SLIIT is the only Sri Lankan higher education institute affiliated to Sheffield Hallam University, accepted as one of the prestigious universities in the world for its high standards in offering Bachelors, Masters and PhD qualifications.

According to the agreement between SLIIT and SHU on students of SLIIT specializing in IT, Software Engineering and Computer Systems and Technology will be granted the opportunity to study for two and a half years at SLIIT and proceed to SHU to obtain their final qualification in the respective disciplines.

"The support and guidance given to us by SLIIT to earn a foreign degree is phenomenal.

The five semesters I studied at SLIIT gave me the knowledge and courage to take a further step and join SHU to earn my degree as we studied under top professional lecturers of SLIIT.

Apart from classroom support, we had the opportunity to discuss academic and personal queries through online forums integrated into the system.

Even after we moved to SHU we had the opportunity to keep in touch with our SLIIT lecturers which gave us the absolute confidence and strength to achieve high standards" said Niroshana Yapa, who earned an upper first honours in Computer Systems and Networking from SHU.

In transferring students to foreign universities, SLIIT offers the full service of screening applications, assuring visa and coordinating accommodation etc.

A one year special working visa is also offered to SLIIT students followed by graduation and students are assured the opportunity to read for their Masters degrees with an entitlement for a 30 percent discount on tuition fees.

SLIIT is the only Sri Lankan higher education institute who offers this package to students who wish to obtain a qualification from a foreign university. The course fee of SLIIT is also known as the lowest among the other higher education institutes in obtaining a foreign degree.

The course fee for the five semesters at SLIIT and one semester at SHU costs approximately 1 million, considered as highly affordable, as a student is generally required to invest three times more compared with the industry rates.

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) is the largest IT degree awarding institute in Sri Lanka with the highest number of PhD qualified lecturers in the field of Information Technology, recognized by the University Grants Commission under the Universities Act.

The SLIIT was established in 1999 to educate and train IT professionals required by the fast growing IT industry in Sri Lanka.

SLIIT offers programmes of studies leading to B.Sc. Special Honours degrees, B.Sc degrees, M.Sc degrees and postgraduate diplomas in Information Technology, Computer Systems and Networking, Information Systems and related fields.

Apart from these, a number of industry certified programs are conducted in partnership with Microsoft, IBM and CISCO Systems. Business Management has been the latest addition to the educational pathway available at SLIIT.

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Two ICTA Nenasalas win global entrepreneurship awards

Mahesh Dissanayake

Kumara Dissanayake

Two Nenasala telecenters, overseen by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the apex body for ICT policy in Sri Lanka, have won Young Social Entrepreneur awards from the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP).

Selected from among 864 applicants around the world, the Thalpotha Nenasala, Polonnaruwa, and the Lunama Nenasala, Hambantota, have been recognised for their contribution to improving the ICT literacy of Sri Lanka's rural populace.

Mahesh Dissanayake who runs the Nenasala in Thalpotha works to popularise the use of Sinhala in IT at grassroots levels. He has been exposed to the use of IT for development internationally, in Japan and India and has used those lessons to develop a plan to get rural communities to develop and upload digital articles and media that is of value to others like themselves in their daily lives.

"The support and assistance we received from ICTA from the time when we were a small community organisation is really the foundation of our current success," he said.

W.M.C.R.K. Dissanayake who runs the NenaSala in Lunama, is a social entrepreneur of significant ability. His ability to mobilise the community around his centre for social and IT projects is well known.

He also maintains a bilingual website, www.hambantota.info, which contains maps and other information about the Hambantota district.

ICTA has given 398 other communities such Nenasala telecenters where ICTA gives equipment and connectivity to the community and the community has to meet the cost of rent, electricity and salaries.

This cost sharing model has created significant innovation at the ground level. ICTA salutes the award winners who serve to highlight the great success they and their Nenasalas have had in taking the benefits of technology to every citizen.

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MTI delegation to visit Sri Lanka

India has seen a seachange, smashing barriers and actively seeking foreign investment; many companies still see it as a difficult market.

According to Country Manager, MTI Consulting India, Subash Bidare who will be in Colombo to help Sri Lankan Companies go across the border, understanding the potential of the Indian market, envisaging and developing a Market Entry Strategy and implementing these strategies are the three key steps in making a successful entry into India.

India's 854bn USD economy, the fifth largest in the world, is currently growing at 8% a year - a level which Goldman Sachs predicts will be sustained until 2020.

At this rate it will likely overtake the UK, Italian and French economies by 2017, and by 2042 will overtake the US to become the world's second largest economy behind China.

And it is not just India's GDP which is booming, the Indian stock market has risen by nearly 40% over the past year, while Indian companies are seeing annual profit growth rates of more than 30% and offering high prospects for growth in practically all areas of business.

Country Manager, MTI Consulting in India, Subash Bidare, said, "entering India's marketplace requires a well-designed plan backed by serious thought and careful research. For those who take the time and look to India as an opportunity for long-term growth and not short-term profit, the trip will be well worth the effort."

India presents a vast potential for overseas investment and is actively encouraging the entrance of foreign players into the market.