Centrally located opposite the Sacred Bodhiya in the heart of Matara lies one of the many academic branches of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), a testament to the institute's diligent focus towards moulding IT, Business and Engineering students to the task of meeting the challenges posed by today's demanding work environment.

The SLIIT Matara Centre was established in 2004 to facilitate educational opportunities for students in the region. The Centre admits up to 100 students for the first year of the degree programme and provides facilities for first and second year students to follow the identical programme which is conducted at SLIIT's other campuses.

Currently the undergraduate programmes offered at the campus are the B.Sc Special Honours Degree in Information Technology (1st & 2nd Year) and short term programmes such as the Knowledge Worker Certificate Programme, Web Developer Programme etc. by the Division of Professional Development. Upon completion of their second year of study, students will have the option of transferring to the SLIIT Colombo Metropolitan Campus or Malabe Campus to continue their studies towards the B.Sc. degree and the B.Sc. Special Honours degree.

SLIIT recently awarded diplomas in IT Applications and Knowledge Worker Certificates (KWC) at the Matara branch, an initiative undertaken by SLIIT to provide benefits for needy students to ease their academic path. The programmes were conducted with the support of the Distance Education Modernisation Project (DEMP) of the Ministry of Higher Education and the Lakshman Yapa Foundation respectively.

President and CEO of SLIIT, Professor Lalith Gamage elaborates that "there has been a significant increase in the drive for student intake this year, and we hope the opportunities available at the Matara campus will provide scope for broadening the student body in the future".

The largest degree awarding institute in the field of Information Technology in Sri Lanka, SLIIT continually seeks to expand its vistas to produce highly qualified IT professionals who will contribute towards Sri Lanka's progress within the field of Information Technology. Chairman of SLIIT Professor S. Karunaratne notes that "a significant percentage of the country's IT professionals have received their education and training at SLIIT, which reflects the success of SLIIT as an educational institution of higher learning and the immense scope this presents for the IT industry in Sri Lanka".