Biz-Tech

YCS gives impetus to identify, harness hidden talents of rural youth - Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena

Young Computer Scientist (YCS), the annual ICT competition organized by the Federation of the Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), affords a remarkable opportunity to identify and harness the hidden talents of students of information and computer technology, particularly in the far-flung, difficult areas of Sri Lanka, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena presenting an award and certificate to H. M. Lahiru Sandaruwan of Mahiyangana Ridimaliyadda Maha Vidyalaya.

Minister Bandula Gunawardena was speaking at the presentation of awards and certificates to the winners of the Young Computer Scientist 2011 competition organized by FITIS for the 10th successful year. The colourful awards ceremony, organized by FITIS in collaboration with the Education Ministry was held in the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) recently.

The Minister was the chief guest at the awards presentation which was attended by a large and distinguished gathering, including FITIS Chairman Govin Nangrani, Education Ministry Director - ICT Neil Gunadasa, FITIS Secretary Udaya de Silva, CEO Damith Hettiarachchi, FITIS Software Chapter President Sudarshan Welihinda, and University of Colombo School of Computing Director Prof. Gihan Wickremanayake.

Minister Gunawardena further said, “At the time President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected to office in 2005, the computer literacy rate in Sri Lanka stood at a pathetically low 5%.

The objective of the government is to move towards a knowledge economy by achieving a computer literacy rate of 75% by the year 2015. We are now working towards this goal.

“The winner of the top honours in the junior category of this competition was a student of Mahiyangana Ridimaliyadda Maha Vidyalaya. Ridimaliyadda is a village in far-flung, rural Mahiyangana with the minimum of infrastructure facilities. It is situated in a very difficult area with limited resources.

“The fact that a student from such a difficult, rustic hamlet won the top prize in the Young Computer Scientist competition amply proves two factors: The first is that the government’s ongoing initiative to take ICT to rural schools has been a resounding success. The second is that this contest organized by FITIS has established itself as an excellent platform to identify and expose the computing talents of schoolchildren at early stages and encourage them to develop their talents and earn recognition for their innovations”.

The National School Level Gold Award winner in the senior group category in the competition was Chathura Samarasinghe, a student of Thrithwa Vidyalaya, Kandy while H. M. Lahiru Sandaruwan of Mahiyangana Ridimaliyadda Maha Vidyalaya bagged the top prize in the junior segment. In the International Schools senior group category Krishan Chandana Mendis of Gateway School of Computing, Galle emerged Gold Award winner, while Chanuka Yasawardena, a student of Gateway School of Computing, Nugegoda won the first prize in the junior category.

Student H. M. Lahiru Sandaruwan of Ridimaliyadda Maha Vidyalaya said his village was so backward that his small house did not even have electricity - a basic requirement.

He took part in this competition thanks to his school teacher Priyantha who put together some pieces to produce a computer. That was how Sandaruwan sent his entry and bagged the top accolade.

The Young Computer Scientist competition was initiated by FITIS to take the fruits of ICT education to youth in the urban as well as rural segments, said FITIS Chairman Govin Nangrani.

He said that this contest has, over the past decade developed into a fully-fledged, enormously popular annual event, and is at present conducted on a national level in collaboration with the Education Ministry.

The two national level Gold winners (Senior and Junior) in the Young Computer Scientist competition, Chathura Samarasinghe of Thrithwa Vidyalaya, Kandy and Chanuka Yasawardena of Gateway School of Computing, Nugegoda, will get the opportunity of representing Sri Lanka at the APICTA, Thailand in November 2011.

Sri Lanka Telecom, Acer Computer Company, Metropolitan and Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology were the official sponsors of the Young Computer Scientist competition.

ESOFT students obtain best results at BCS convocation

Students who studied IT courses of the British Computer Society (BCS), from ESOFT Computer Studies were able to obtain the best results this year also. The 12th annual convocation of the British Computer Society was held recently at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo.

At this convocation, over 500 students who had successfully completed the higher education programmes of the British Computer Society such as the Certificate in IT, the Diploma in IT and the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT were presented with their certificates. Over 150 students who had successfully completed the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT were presented with their professional degree certificates at this convocation and now they can register for a post graduate degree programme in United Kingdom (UK) or a Sri Lankan University.

From left: ESOFT Computer Studies Chief Executive Officer Dr Dayan Rajapaksa, award-winning student Manju L. Fernando, BCS Education Section Head Sharon Herd and BCS Section Manager of ESOFT Gopinath.

ESOFT Computer Studies is conducting classes for all the above mentioned education programmes of the BCS in almost all the main cities of Sri Lanka and, as in the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, this year also, ESOFT students were able to obtain the best results. ESOFT student Manju L. Fernando was able to win four special prizes at the 2011 convocation. The prizes were, the Sri Lankan Prize for the Diploma Level Top Candidate, the World Prize, the Sri Lanka Prize and the World Prize for the Professional Graduate Diploma Level Top Candidate.

The largest computer training institute in Sri Lanka, the ESOFT Computer Studies, where the largest number of computer and ICT related educational programmes can be followed under one roof with the most number of branches in the Island, has been conducting the BCS higher education programmes from 2000. The British Computer Society has also provided the ESOFT Computer Studies with an Accredited Course Provider Certificate. The BCS has studied the number of students following their study programmes at ESOFT, their results, institutional facilities and the qualifications and the experience of the panel of instructors and given the institution the approval to conduct classes for three study programmes of theirs, namely, the Certificate in IT, the Diploma in IT and the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT.

BCS is the professional body for the IT field, and the Learned Society representing this field. The BCS is conducting its Higher Education Qualifications courses in Sri Lanka as well as a large number of other countries of the world. The higher educational qualifications that could be obtained from BCS are the Certificate in IT, the Diploma in IT and the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT. The University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka have officially accepted the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT, one of the highest qualifications of the BCS, as being a sufficient pre-qualification to register in a Sri Lankan university to follow courses in Master in Computer Science (M.Sc), Master in Information Technology (MIT) and Master in Business Administration (MBA). Other than that, those who complete the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT can register at a university in United Kingdom (UK) to read for a post graduate qualification.

Students who pass the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination but do not qualify for university entrance because they lack a few marks number in thousands. Those students can successfully complete the Professional Graduate Diploma in IT and read for a post graduate qualification in any university in Sri Lanka or abroad. It only takes two years to complete the BCS Professional Graduate Diploma in IT.

The ESOFT Computer Education Institute is recruiting students for BCS Higher Education Qualifications Examinations that will be held in April 2012 at its’ Colombo, Kandy, Matara, Galle, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Negombo, Batticaloa and Gampaha centres. A limited number of students will be recruited for each centre to enable maintaining the highest standards of education. Students will be supplied with text books for every course of education. There are extensive facilities for practical training at all centres of ESOFT. The well-qualified panel of lecturers has over 10 years of hands on experience in the relevant fields. More details could be obtained from their website www.esoft.lk

Softlogic Information Technologies launches Dell Inspiron N5110 / N4110 laptops

Softlogic Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. one of the premier IT companies in Sri Lanka and a pioneering subsidiary of Softlogic Holdings has launched the Dell Inspiron R 14R/15R in Sri Lanka.

New Dell Inspiron N5110 / N4110 Laptops with personalize SWITCH lid option

The two new Inspiron laptop models, N5110 and N4110 is available in 14”, 15” and 17” with 2nd Gen Intel Core processors and optional switch lids, creating a new dimension in user experience through appearance and performance.

With stylish designs to fit every personality, and 2nd Generation Intel CoreTM processors for fast performance, Inspiron R is the full-featured laptop series catering to the different needs of customers.

Through the switchable lid designs individuals can personalize their laptop with SWITCH introduced by Dell Design Studio.

Customers will be able to change the look as they please with optional interchangeable lids according to Dell International. The SWITCH by Design Studio collection includes 25 new eye-popping lids sporting vibrant colours and unique designs.

Users can start the day with a Peacock Blue lid, and switch it out for a design-inspired look at night.

The Inspiron R laptops is produced with sleek form factors, up to 13 hours of battery life on the Inspiron 15R with the optional 9-cell battery and incorporate the latest USB 3.0 technology to make transferring photos, videos, music and other graphics-rich files faster.

The Dell Inspiron R laptops will be available across all Softlogic outlets in Sri Lanka for purchase.