Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Monday, 11 March 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Showcasing a celebration of two decades of academic excellence, Sri Lanka’s premier higher education institute SLIIT held its 20th annual convocation ceremony at the Malabe Campus recently.
Conducted over two days on 21-22 February, the institute conferred Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Information Technology, Engineering, Quantity Surveying and Business Management to over 1100 students, and a doctoral degree during the colourful ceremony.
Gracing the first day’s proceedings as Chief Guests were Curtin University Australia Vice Chancellor Prof. Deborah Terry, CodeGen International Chief Executive Officer Dr. Harsha Subasinghe, Hatton National Bank Managing Director Jonathan Alles, and City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education Ministry Secretary Priyantha Mayadunne.
Addressing the graduands, Prof. Deborah Terry said, “This ceremony marks a significant milestone in your life and you should be proud of your achievements. As a Vice-Chancellor my goal is for our graduates to leave the university with knowledge, skills and attitude to make a positive difference through their chosen profession, not just locally but as global citizens.”
“As you embark on the next stage of your journey do what you enjoy. Remember paths are rarely smooth, your university studies have given you a cache of knowledge, experiences will add to it exponentially, deepening with wisdom that cannot be taught. You are all future leaders, rise to the occasion and never underestimate your capacity, be open to opportunities, rise to the challenge of leadership. Before me I see graduates poised to help shape the future not just for yourself but for the others,” she added.
Advising the new graduands from a corporate perspective, Jonathan Alles said, “Use this graduation as the beginning. As you strive to move forward with your next goals, do not compromise, or be satisfied with mediocrity, instead raise the bar, excellence should not be a goal, make it a habit. Grow to become leaders this country requires. Be the change that you desire, be the leader that you wish you saw while you were growing up and be the human being that you like to see in others.”
Global Systems Solutions International CEO Reshan Dewapura and Sheffield Hallam University Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Roger Eccleston presented degrees to the graduands on the second day.
Other notable dignitaries who attended the ceremony as Guests of Honour were Curtin University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Science & Engineering) Prof. Jeremy Kilburn, Curtin University Deputy Vice Chancellor (International) Prof. Seth Kunin, Transnational Education and Partnerships Deputy Director Nigel De Silva, and Liverpool John Moores University Pro Vice Chancellor (Education) Prof. Peter Byres.
Commenting on SLIIT’s 20th Convocation, SLIIT CEO Prof. Lalith Gamage said, “Today is an important milestone for SLIIT as we celebrate our 20th Convocation. As we are poised to make giant strides towards achieving excellence in diverse areas, we have endeavoured to bring you on a journey of experiences which have helped you to grow and transform. I congratulate all our graduands - we celebrate your achievements, and have great confidence in your future success, and though the road ahead is long the journey promises to be exciting.”
Honouring students for their outstanding academic activities, several Best Performance Awards, Gold Medals and Merit awards were sponsored by premier organisations including Dialog Axiata, IFS, Virtusa, Walkers CML, Zone 24x7, Metropolitan, CIMA, MAGA, Ambeon Holdings PLC, BoC, FITIS, EPIC Lanka, LSEG Technology, WSO2, Orange IT, 99X Technologies, E-Wis and CSSL.
