SLIIT gets request for campus in Libya

Harshini PERERA

Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) is spearheading an initiative to make Sri Lanka an education hub.

Prof Lalith Gamage

Enrolling international students, employing international staff, developing partnerships with foreign universities and establishing overseas campuses will be the main thrust of this strategy. The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) has received a request to set up a campus in Libya. This request follows President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to Libya last year.

The resource persons for the project will be from Sri Lanka and initially SLIIT will enrol around 50 students and then later set up a campus in Libya under the request of Libyan Government. SLIIT has also decided to enrol international students from the regional countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Maldives, President/CEO, SLIIT, Prof Lalith Gamage told the Daily News.

This will provide Sri Lanka with the capacity to function as an education hub and be the first IT campus to cater the international market.

Prof Gamage said there is a huge demand for Information Technology degrees in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

It is expected to enrol Bangladesh students to follow programs for the 2011 intake. Promotional activities are underway to promote SLIIT programs and the enrolment will take place in early September. "We have also tapped the Maldivian market and we have already done a survey in Maldives. There are many students who have not qualified A/L examinations. We need to conduct foundation programs to make them qualify for SLIIT programs," Prof Gamage said.