APIIT promise 100 top IT graduates to Virtusa annually
View(s):One of the top global education entities in Sri Lanka, The Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology( APIIT) signed an MOU with the top global IT company Virtusa- the leader in Sri Lanka who support companies who are driving digital transformation innovation globally. The MOU cut across training and development, partnering the entity for faculty visits, priority picking of talent, soft skill training and advising on the new curriculum development. One of the key promises we agreed was that APIIT will develop to provide100 top quality IT graduates to Virtusa to interview and select based on the different requirements of the organisation said the Chairman Asia Pacific Institute of Technology( APIIT) Bandula Egodage. By servicing the private sector we will be serving the country so that the IT/BPO industry can bring in a five billion dollars to Sri Lanka in the near future he said. We currently are at just a billion dollars in export revenue.
Chairman APIIT Bandula Egodage and Sampath Thrimavithana, Senior Director
One of the key feature of the MOU was the launch of the ‘Digital Discovery Programme’ a signature programme of Virtusa which is aimed at enriching practical skills and imparting an industry-relevant course curriculum to the IT students of APIIT. Especially the software engineering students as APPIT is known for top quality IT students with strong soft skills spanning a 22 years heritage under the Staffordshire Univrsity-UK.
APIIT Software engineering is a vital area of education in Industry and Commerce. Regardless of the sector in business software is an integral part of its operations to ensure to be cost-effective, efficient, and reliable in the outcomes. In 2022, software engineering is a dynamic field that stands to produce a plethora of benefits as the rapid digitisation of businesses around the world reaches it new level due to the pandemic. New trends emerge in the market regularly, bringing with them specific demands for tailored skillsets. If Sri Lanka is to benefit from the emergence of these new trends, the professionals in the country’s talent pool need to be equipped with the knowledge and abilities needed to excel whilst been agile was the consensus of the discussion at the historic signining in.
The APIIT – VIRTUSA industry-academic alliance was very timely with its specific focus on facilitating and training APIIT students on the Virtusa Digital Discoverer Programme harnessing Virtusa›s experience. The MOU provides for Virtusa’s representatives to work with APIIT’s students and provide them exposure to the current industrial needs and requirements. The end game is that top 100 graduates can be developed to the top private sector organisation. Some can be even seconded to overseas entities provided they are qualified at a higher level like a masters programme that APIIT has built a name in the market,
The signature brand ‘Digital Discover Programme’ consists of many industrial sessions enriched with core and emerging technical skills together with project management and professional skills. It will be run on a twelve week module side by side to the academic studies that APIIT students will do in the Computer School. These skills will bring an advantage for the undergraduates to become industry-ready while also enhancing the probability of employment of the students.
Representing Virtusa at the signing of the MOU were Head of HR – Sri Lanka for Virtusa Sampath Thrimavithana, Senior Director – Delivery Asanka Gurusinghe, Director – Technology Mahesh Nithokumar, Head of Campus – HR Suweda Rajaratnam, HR Executive Aniston Leo, and HR Associate Executive Agassi Johnson. From the APIIT Chairman Bandula Egodage, Chief Executive Officer Roshan Egodage and Board Directors Dr Rohantha Athukorala, Gamindu Hemachandra and Head of IT Administration Nirosha Perera.
Speaking at the event Dr Rohantha Athukorala said that the role of education institutes is to produce talent that will help solve the problems that the private sector is up against. We will train the students with the support of organisations like Virtusa so that we can provide 100 top IT graduates to organizations initially and then we will scale up. This in turn will ensure that an organisation like Virtusa meet the promise that cater to the requirements thousands of miles away. In today’s work many companies are driving digitalisation where the backend can be done efficiently and with hundred percent accuracy in countries like Sri Lanka and India whilst the front end is in Europe, US and Australia. We are committed to play this role he said. The Pandemic has brought out many benefits globally whilst also creating turmoil in some business areas. We must be agile to understand the global changes and cater to these requirements so that the Gen Z generation can benefit from such changes. Let’s accept it the Gen Z is a difficult group of people to manage but they are also very productive and creative. The ideal profession for such strongly digital people to join organisations like Virtusa after a good academic training couples with the right soft skills said Athukoarala.
On behalf of Virtusa Sampath Thrimavithana said that, “As one of the largest employers of graduates in the country we continuously look for means to improve the employability of undergraduates. This alliance as a great step forward in reinforcing Sri Lanka’s future by building on one of the most valuable skills any student could pursue. With unique insights into industry requirements and a curriculum that is custom-made to ensure success, this union will help address the required skills whilst uplifting our youth to meet international standards. We are keen to give a career path and not just work and earn ethos.
APIIT Sri Lanka is a leading higher education institution with a reputation for quality and standards and has a longstanding partnership with Staffordshire University, UK. To date, the Staffordshire University-APIIT Sri Lanka collaboration has produced nearly 4,300 alumni who hold key positions in various industries spanning the world. The faculty at APIIT are Industry professionals who are keen to share their knowledge and experience with youngsters and that what makes APIIT preferred choice said Chairman Bandula Egodage.
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