240 students graduate at IIT Annual Convocation 2019

From left: UOW Associate Head (Transnational Education) Stephen Wallis, IIT Dean Naomi Krishnarajah, UOW UK Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global) Prof. Alex Hughes, Informatics Group Founder and Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe, Vice-Chancellor and President of University of Westminster Dr. Peter Bonfield, OBE, and IIT Director Prof. Jayantha Wijeyaratne 

• Celebrates 30 years of excellence in providing British higher education in SL

By Charumini de Silva

Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), witnessed 240 students obtain undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the fields of IT and Business, offered by the University of Westminster UK, at its annual convocation 2019 at the BMICH recently.

The annual convocation also celebrated its 30th anniversary this year, as the pioneer in British higher education in Sri Lanka and the country’s premier IT and Business campus. The Chief Guest for the event was University of Westminster Vice-Chancellor and President Dr. Peter Bonfield, OBE.

During the ceremony, degrees were conferred to students who had successfully completed the Master of Science in Advanced Software Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Software Engineering, Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Business Information Systems degrees.

The degrees were conferred by University of Westminster Vice-Chancellor and President Dr. Peter Bonfield, OBE, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global) Prof. Alex Hughes, Associate Head (External Relations) Prof. Stephen Brookhouse, and several other academics of the University of Westminster graced the occasion, together with a large gathering of IIT staff and parents.

Congratulating all the students who graduated, IIT Founder and Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe said the institute goes beyond theoretical knowledge and gives real world, on-hands experience while setting students up for a great career path.

“Over 75% of the graduates today has already got jobs. We have worked very closely with the industry and our students benefit greatly from this partnership in finding employment even before they graduate. With the type of degree programs we offer, our students have higher demand from the industry for employment opportunities,” he told journalists.

He also said that IIT maintained an excellent relationship with the University of Westminster in the UK, which has played a pivotal role in strengthening the IT and Business sector education in Sri Lanka over the years with assisting in providing world-class programs for the students.

“IIT celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as we strive to utilise the best practices and measures in delivering superior education to our students. The perseverance and hard work of all employees at every level of the organisation stands as the pillar of strength in all our successes. We will continue to improve and maintain the highest quality in the services we provide and the courses we deliver to our students,” Dr. Wickramasinghe said.

University of Westminster Vice-Chancellor and President Dr. Peter Bonfield, OBE, said Sri Lanka has outstanding young people with great talents in the areas of creativity, innovation, analytical skills.

“It is indeed a pleasure to see so many great students graduating each year, coming from different backgrounds and joining the workforce of the country with amazing skillsets. The young talent in Sri Lanka is outstanding,” he asserted.       

He also noted that the quality of these students has been underpinned with world-class degree programs that the University of Westminster offer, thereby making them highly employable before they even graduate as well.With IIT celebrating 30 years this year and ambitious on building its own city campus by 2021, Dr. Bonfield said they were looking forward to it.

IIT Director Prof. Jayantha Wijeyaratne said the two way interaction with the industry has helped immensely in educating the students with latest trends and finding employability for them.

“We get insights from the industry at times of revising our curricular and have guest lecturers from the industry. This synergy between us has really benefited our students and as a result, IIT students are known for their highly employability,” he pointed out.

IIT Dean Naomi Krishnarajah said the campus has maintained the quality standards at high levels, even when there is an increased number of students joining every year. “IIT’s success is seen in over 3,500 graduates practicing globally within the industry and beyond,” she added.

Numerous awards were presented to students who performed exceptionally during their time at IIT.  Gold medals were awarded to Ishanka Lakshan Wasalage – M.Sc. in Advanced Software Engineering, Nagarajah Thiloshon – B. Eng. (Hons) Software Engineering, Christine Laurie Melissa Diaz - BSc (Hons) Computer Science and Sudhara Vinodi Karagampitiya – B.Sc. (Hons) Information Systems with Business Management. The University of Westminster award went to Brion Mario Piumal Silva - B. Eng. (Hons) Software Engineering, Nethmi Venu Jayawardena- B.Sc. (Hons) Computer Science and Sukith Charutha Atulugama – B.Sc. (Hons) Information Systems with Business Management. Additionally the Best Final Year Project was awarded to Nagarajah Thiloshon – B. Eng (Hons) Software Engineering, Nuwan Stanislaus Gomis Abeysingha Jayawardene and Sudhara Vinodi Karagampitiya – B.Sc. (Hons) Information Systems with Business Management.

The IIT campus is currently affiliated to the University of Westminster UK which is an acclaimed modern university that has won the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for two years consecutively. In the past, IIT has also delivered internal degree programs of Manchester Metropolitan University and Keele University. IIT was established in 1990 as the first private higher education institute that awards reputed British degrees in the field of ICT and Business. IIT is an award-winning campus offering internal postgraduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Westminster, UK and Robert Gordon University, UK. IIT has played a pivotal role in strengthening the IT and Business sectors in Sri Lanka over the years by producing world-class graduates. These graduates have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs and IT/Business professionals in both local and international corporate and government entities. Since its inception, IIT has produced thousands of graduates who have excelled in hundreds of organisations around the globe.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola