Symbol of hope for IT

By Nilika de Silva

In the class room

However, the students who move around this sprawling edifice are from Matara, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Chilaw and various other parts of Sri Lanka, proud testimony to the fact that this young talent will soon be contributing to the development of our island home. 

The campus at Malabe is one among four academic bodies run by the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) to equip local students with IT skills. The men at its helm are former Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa, Professor Sam Karunaratne (Chairman) and Dr. Lalith Gamage (Managing Director/CEO).

The Metropolitan Campus located at Kollupitiya, the campus at Kamburupitiya with residential facilities and the centre at Kandy are the other SLIIT premises, already in existence. 

"The facilities available and the profile was such that there was a big demand for Malabe," Prof. Karunaratne said. 

When The Sunday Times visited the Malabe Campus, where presently only the first year students are following study programmes, it was encouraging to see that our youngsters too had a place to achieve their goals. For those thousands who could never dream of going abroad to study information technology, an opportunity has been created to obtain this education, at a nominal fee. 

Speaking to the students we realised what a very tangible need the campus was fulfilling. But the demand remains more than has been met, as is mirrored by the fact that approximately 6,200 students had applied to enter the Malabe Campus, six times the present capacity. 

Computers and information technology have today become an inescapable component of day-to-day life in Sri Lanka, governing all spheres of activity, from the Stock Market, registering the pulse of the people to the smallest bank or teller machine. Similarly the demand for IT qualified personnel is clearly seen in Sunday newspaper advertisements. 

The SLIIT, an institute recognised by the University Grants Commission, offers a three-year degree, in association with the Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. Students are awarded a B.Sc Special Honours Degree by the SLIIT, following a fourth year of study. 

The degree programme is designed in such a manner that a candidate has the option of leaving the programme with a Certificate, an Associate Diploma, or a Higher Diploma, or proceeding to a Bachelor of Science Degree. These multiple entry and exit points provide students the flexibility to seek employment or experience and rejoin the programme according to their economic convenience and professional preferences. 

Meanwhile, internships are available, with students provided employment opportunities within the institute to develop commercial software and conduct professional development programmes, and consulting services for government and private institutions. 

The Sri Lanka Technology Incubator, known as Conceptnursery. com has also been established by the SLIIT together with several local IT companies to assist and promote IT enterprises, innovators and start-up companies. 

"Only ideas are enough. Space and funds are provided for converting ideas into commercial ventures," Dr. Gamage said, explaining what the SLIIT does in extending research and development facilities. 

These companies and establishments use the institute's state-of-the-art facilities including its modern networking infrastructure. They also have access to a rich pool of expertise and well trained students to carry out research and development. At present about seven companies are being 'incubated', while several others have already reached completion. 

The SLIIT recently launched a post-graduate Diploma in Information Technology, meant for non-IT graduates who wish to convert themselves to IT professionals. In an age where youth are often frustrated by unrealised dreams and untapped potential, the opening of the SLIIT's Malabe Campus is indeed a symbol of hope.