Saturday, 21 December 2013 00:00
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The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) was recently ranked number one in the Higher Education category by LMD. The degree awarding institution was adjudged the best in the higher education category according to a stringent set of criteria set out by TNS Lanka Research, which conducted the polls for LMD.
SLIIT came on top, affirming its wide range of offerings that include locally and globally recognised degrees, affiliations to reputed foreign universities, world class and renowned lecturers, the qualification and recognition of lecturers, reputation, the vast array of subjects, availability of scholarship, sports and extracurricular activities.
Scoring 1,105 points, SLIIT earned the top spot by a large margin beating over 40 institutes. While Ceylon German Technical Training Institute came in second place with 697 points, the National institute of Business Management (NIBM), British College of Applied Studies and Aquinas College of Higher Studies, came in third (695 points), fourth ( 655 points) and fifth (642 points) respectively.
SLIIT President and CEO Professor Lalith Gamage was upbeat on the ranking: “We are delighted to be ranked number one, particularly, since this is in keeping with our vision of making Sri Lanka an education hub, similarly to Malaysia. For this accomplishment, good universities and the quality of courses are vital.”
Started in 1999, with just 400 students, to gain an edge in the IT sector, SLIIT has grown exponentially from an operation at the Bank of Ceylon Merchant Tower building to a multi campus university with over 6,000 students, with a state of the campus in the Malabe.
Elaborating further, Professor Gamage said: “This is just the stepping stone for our institution. Looking at our future plans, we have a three-pronged strategy to position ourselves among the top 10 universities in the region. First we want to expand and diversify our academic programs, followed by the enhancement of R&D and finally, internationalisation of our campus and degree courses.”
“Our campuses and centres have state of the art buildings, laboratories, reading rooms and lecture halls to create the best possible teaching and learning environment. Along with modern infrastructure and qualified teaching staff, we also mould students into well rounded individuals, encouraging them to excel within the classroom and in other extracurricular activities, such as sporting events, talents shows and community projects,” noted SLIIT Chairman Professor S. Karunaratne.
With over 20 foreign university affiliations, SLIIT offers courses ranging from Undergraduate programs to Masters degrees in IT, Engineering and Business Management which are all approved by the University Grants Commission.
Students have the opportunity of enrolling for the four year SLIIT B.Sc. Honours degree in Information Technology, with a specialisation in information technology, computer systems and networking, software engineering, interactive media and information systems. The four year BBA. Special Hons. degrees in Business Management has a specialisation in Marketing Management, Accounting and Finance, Human Capital Management, Quality Management and Management Information Systems. Students interested in pursuing a career in Engineering have the option of obtaining a four year B.Sc. Engineering (Hons) degree in the following areas; Civil, Mechanical, Material, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechatronics. SLIIT also conducts a number of industry certified professional development programs in collaboration with Microsoft, IBM and CISCO systems.
Along with the range of courses offered by SLIIT, the prestigious, Curtin University in Australia and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) of UK, also conduct a host of their degree programs at SLIIT. The students also have the option of completing the entire program at SLIIT.
Curtin University permits students to complete B.Sc. Degrees in Information Technology, Computer Systems and Networking, Software Engineering, BEng in Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Construction Engineering, Electrical and Power Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering. Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) of UK also offers BBA (Hons) in Business Management, B. Eng (Hons) degree program in Electronic Engineering and MEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
At SLIIT, students are offered enhanced support in career guidance to help them find internships and employment. Due to the high credibility and reputation SLIIT posses almost all students are employed within a period of one year after graduation.
SLIIT is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and also a member of the International Association of Universities. SLIIT is the only non state higher educational institute in Sri Lanka which has gained such recognition. Interested students can visit www.sliit.lk or call 0112413900.
