Govt counting on IT/BPO export growth : SLASSCOM chief
View(s):All five of Sri Lanka’s main export sectors, except IT/BPO, have shown main negative growth, of about 8 per cent, so the government was counting on the IT/BPO to carry the export sector, according to SLASSCOM Chairman Sujiva Dewaraja.
Mr. Dewaraja made these comments at the recent launch of the Inter University Innovation Championship, a restructured version of the Inter University Enterprise Mobility Software Development Competition, which will be held at the University of Colombo – School of Computing in 2013. Further, he also indicated that Sri Lanka was not meeting the ongoing demand for IT professionals, and that the IT/BPO sector needed “immediately employable” university graduates if it was to double its staff, a requirement if it were to double its revenue to US$ 1 billion.
Also speaking at the event, University of Colombo Vice Chancellor Dr. Kumara Hirimburegama opined that Sri Lankan university graduates were undervalued. This was because the education with which they were provided was free of charge, so there was no monetary value placed on it. He also added that his university was offering programmes on marketing, etc. but without practical experience it was of no help. And that his university already recognised management skills as being important, as otherwise university IT graduates would be seen as technicians only.
Further, Dr. Hirimburegama also signalled that, if there was no national focus on developing human resources, there was no point in roads and other infrastructure developments.
Meanwhile, Chief Guest at the event, US Embassy Economic and Commercial Affairs Counselor Allison Areias-Vogel informed the audience that the education field was changing so fast that it was impossible to prepare students today for tomorrow’s jobs. Instead, they could only learn skills that allowed them to adapt to any future situation.
At the same time, she also opined that Sri Lankan engineers had a great reputation internationally. And that educating students on stem subjects, like math, etc., would give Sri Lanka an advantage, as it is no longer enough to just be educated. It was now also necessary to be innovative. Additionally, she also commented that research triangles, like that in Silicon Valley, were a growing necessity. The mix of education, mentors and money which was the result of these types of locales often led to high levels of innovation.
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