Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Coordinates: 6°54′52″N 79°58′20″E / 6.91444°N 79.97222°E
ශ්රී ලංකා තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ ආයතනය | |
Established | 1999 |
---|---|
Chancellor | Prof L.L. Rathnayake[1] |
President & CEO | Prof Lalith Gamage |
Academic staff | 400 |
Administrative staff | 200 |
Students | 8,000 |
Undergraduates | 9000 |
Postgraduates | 1500 |
Other students | 800 |
Location | Malabe, Sri Lanka |
Campus |
Main campus: Malabe Metropolitan campus Colombo 03 Matara centre Kandy Centre Kurunegala Centre Jaffna Centre |
Colors | Blue, Gold |
Affiliations |
Association of Commonwealth Universities The Institution of Engineering and Technology International Association of Universities |
Website | www.sliit.lk |
Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකා තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ ආයතනය) also popularly known as SLIIT is a government owned higher education and degree granting institute[2] in Sri Lanka.
It was founded in 1999 in response to rapid development of the IT industry in the country in 90's.[3] The institute was established by the government of Sri Lanka.[4][5][6] It has two campuses and four centres. The main campus is in Malabe, 16 km from Colombo. It also has a metropolitan campus in Colombo, the island's largest city.
SLIIT is accredited as a degree awarding institute under the Universities Act of Sri Lanka.[7][8] and offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in computing, business and engineering with the consent of University Grants Commission of Sri Lanka.
SLIIT is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and International Association of Universities.[1] It enrolls approximately 7000 undergraduate and graduate students.[1]
SLIIT is an internationally accredited university in the fields of Information Technology, Electronics and Management as well as a research university.[9]
History
Beginnings
The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology was established in 1999 by incorporating under the companies act as a company by Guarantee in Sri Lanka,[10] with ability to award degrees following amendments to the Universities Act the same year, thus gaining recognition from the University Grants Commission.[11] It is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).SLIIT was established primarily to educate and train information technology professionals. Its guarantee company registration number is GL 24[12]
SLIIT is a government institution with initial funding from the government. The land for the Malable campus was given by the government. SLIIT was financially funded by Mahapola Higher Education Trust Fund and was aided by the ministries of International and Internal Commerce Affairs, Higher Education and by the Ministry of Finance & Planning.[13]
SLIIT has been under various government ministries from time to time and presently comes under the purview of the Ministry of Higher Education.[14] Unlike other state universities, it does not depend on government funding and therefore has a great deal of autonomy. In 2007 SLIIT began expanding into fields of study outside those of IT and computing. These include electronic engineering and business management in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University.[15]
Since its conception, under the presidency and chancellorship of Professor Sam Karunaratne, it has become the leading degree-granting institute in Sri Lanka for information technology, producing 600 graduates annually.[16] SLIIT has expanded its IT education from Colombo and its suburbs to other parts of the country, including Kandy and Matara, making SLIIT accessible in six locations.
Expansions
Presently, SLIIT operates two Campuses - the Colombo Metropolitan Campus at Kollupitiya, the Malabe Campus, and few centres in Matara, Kandy, Jaffna and Kurunegala. The total enrolment of students at SLIIT for bachelor's degree Programmes is about 7,000.
A further 1,000 students follow master's degree Programmes, Postgraduate Diploma and other Professional Development Programmes. This has been followed by planned expansion into Bangladesh[17] and enrolment of students from Africa and South Asia.[18] Since its inception SLIIT has produced over 50% of the professionals[3] in Sri Lanka's IT and BPO industry, the fifth largest export earner in the country.[18]
Recent history
In 2011, SLIIT was accredited by for awarding Bachelor of Business Administration degree and in 2013 for Bachelor of Science in Engineering under new faculties of business and engineering.[8] The same year SLIIT opened Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management to offer the Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management degree offered by the William Angliss Institute Australia.[19]
SLIIT opened a new expansion, SLIIT Computing, in Kollupitiya to further expand undergraduate studies.
In 2014, Professor L. Rathnayake was appointed as the vice-chancellor.[1]
In 2015 SLIIT established the School of Architecture
Campuses
Malabe Campus
The Malabe campus covers an area over 25 acres and is the largest SLIIT campuses. This is the flagship campus. Malabe is home to the faculties of Computing, Business & Engineering. It is between Kaduwela and Malabe towns along the New Kandy Road. This campus is well known for its eye catching building complex. Malabe campus houses lecture theaters, research facilities, auditorium, restaurants, gymnasiums and the main library of SLIIT. This campus also has sporting facilities.
Metropolitan Campus
The metropolitan campus is in Kollupitiya. Mainly postgraduate programs and some undergraduate programs are conducted in this campus.
Regional centers
SLIIT has regional expansions out of Western Province in Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and Kurunegala. These regional centers have facilities for undergraduate studies.
Academic profile
Faculties
SLIIT is divided into four faculties: Computing, Business, Engineering and Graduate Studies.
Faculty of Computing
Faculty of Computing is the most demanded and largest faculty of SLIIT. It was started in 1999 to produce IT professionals for the nation. This faculty offers Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in over five disciplines. This faculty comprises three departments.
- Department of Information Technology
- Department of Software Engineering
- Department of Information Systems Engineering
- Department of Graphics and Multimedia
- English Language Teaching Unit
Faculty of Business
The faculty of business at SLIIT offers the Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Capital Management, Accounting and Finance, Marketing Management, Quality management, Management Information Systems. This faculty has two departments.
- Department of Business Management
- Department of Information Management
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Engineering at SLIIT offers undergraduate degrees approved by the UGC. The faculty also conducts Engineering degrees and master's degrees from partner universities such as Curtin University (Australia) and Sheffield Hallam University (UK). There are several sub-departments. This faculty offers BSc. Engineering degrees in several disciplines. Sub-departments of this faculty are:
- Department of Civil Engineering
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management
The CAHM is the first internationally recognized school for tourism and hospitality management in Sri Lanka. It was initiated in 2012. The project is a joint venture of SLIIT, Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management (CAHM),[20] and William Angliss Institute of Australia. It has been developed in line with international standards, housing a multi-use training kitchen, a full-scale banqueting facility, training restaurant, model bedrooms, an IT training center and team rooms for students’ practical training.[21]
SLIIT Computing
SLIIT Computing is a new privately managed subsidiary of SLIIT. This institute is in Kollupitiya. Bachelor of Science in Information Technology three-year program and some other undergraduate courses are conducted in this institute.
Faculty of Graduate Studies
Master of Science in Information Technology under several disciplines are conducted in this faculty.
School of Architecture
SLIIT established School of Architecture (SSA) in 2015. The School of Architecture at SLIIT, offers a five year Architecture degree.
Affiliations
SLIIT has built partnerships with Australian universities including Curtin University, Deakin University, Monash University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University of New Castle, University of South Australia, University of Tasmania, QUT, Swinburne University and William Angliss Institute.[22] These partnerships allow students to study for their degrees at SLIIT.
The partnership with Sheffield Hallam University in United Kingdom enables SLIIT to offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and degree transfer programs.[23] The University of British Columbia allows students to study for postgraduate degree from SLIIT.[24] Similar partnerships allow students to complete several semesters of study at SLIIT and to finish the degree work at the other universities.
Research
SLIIT conducts IT and computer-related research and is a partner of ConceptNursery.com, Sri Lanka's technology incubator. The SLIIT Research Symposium, which is held annually, showcases and helps advance research in the IT field in Sri Lanka.[25]
Professional courses
SLIIT conducts the Cisco Network Academy courses (CCNA, CCNP and CCSP) under the only regional Cisco Network Academy in Sri Lanka. SLIIT is the only Microsoft Academy in Sri Lanka offering Certification Courses.[26]
Administration and staff
Administration
SLIIT is chartered as a non-profit organization[27] and comes under the Ministry of Higher Education & Highways[4] and is governed by appointed director board headed by the chairman.[28] SLIIT is an education institute overseen by Board of Investments (BOI).[29] As of October 15, 2015 it is under the purview of Ministry of Higher Education & Highways, under extraordinary Gazette Notification 1936/51[2]
Key People
- Professor Lalith Gamage: founding CEO and the current president[30]
- Professor Sam Karunaratne: founding chancellor of the institute.[19]
- Thilan Wijesinghe: a founding member of the director board.[31]
Library
SLIIT Library operates several branches at Colombo, Mathara and Malabe.[1]
Rankings
SLIIT is ranked at many instances within private institutes in Sri Lanka. The corresponding rankings within Sri Lanka are:
Publications | Category | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
Lanka Monthly Digest | Higher Education[32] | 1 | - | |
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities | Sri Lankan Universities[33][34] | 11 | 9 | 9 |
Higher Education Institutes in Sri Lanka[30][35] | - | 1 | 1 |
Extra Academic Activities
The Student's Interactive Society (SIS) is the main student body at SLIIT. The society organises student activities which includes the annual Freshers Night Dance, the Sports day and the Colours Night. Apart from the SIS there are the HEDRA which is the SLIIT programming community, the FOSS Community, the IT Students' Community (ITSC) which is the students' community of the Department of Information Technology, the CSNSC which is the student community of the CSN Department and the Drama & Arts Society and BIMS which is the student community of Business and Information management department student who follows Information Systems degree and Business Management degree.
Student organisations
- Student Interactive Society
- Sports Council
- FOSS Community
- Rotaract Club
- HEDRA SLIIT Programming Community
- IT Students Community
- CSN Students Community
- Students Community for faculty of business
- SLIIT Alumni Association
Sport
SLIIT promote sports and recreational activities. Malabe campus has a range of sporting facilities used by students including Cricket, Rugby, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Tennis, Table tennis, Badminton, Chess and Carrom. SLIIT sporting teams compete in a range of local and national competitions.[1]
Vice-chancellors
- Professor Sam Karunaratne (1999-2014)
- Professor L. Rathnayake (2014-onwards)
Partner universities
The institute holds formal links with institutions from around the world to share teaching and research and facilitate staff and student exchanges.[36]
See also
References
- Section 25A of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 of Sri Lanka
- 21st November 2012 - Extra Ordinary Gazette 1785/22
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 2014/2015 Student Guide (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- 1 2 http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2015/10/1936-51_E.pdf
- 1 2 "Moulding The Future". BUSINESS TODAY. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- 1 2 Wickramaratne, Kingsley T. "Sri Lanka's Cyber Village - Malabe SLIIT Campus". Daily News. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ Kulatunga, Ananda. "Higher Education and Economic Development in Sri Lanka". Lanka Monthly Digest. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ Jeewandara, Shaveen. "A colourful statement". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ↑ Universities Act of Sri Lanka
- 1 2 "THE UNIVERSITIES ACT, No. 16 OF 1978" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (1785/22). 21 November 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ↑ "SLIIT Research Symposium to focus on making Sri Lanka".
- ↑ http://www.drc.gov.lk/App/comreg.nsf/pageS?OpenPage&Start=17500
- ↑ http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2012/11/1785-22_E.pdf
- ↑ http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2016/2/1955-20_E.pdf
- ↑ Withana, Prabhath (23 September 2009). "ශ්රී ලංකා තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ ආයතනයේ දස වැනි සංවත්සරය සමරයි" (in Sinhala). Retrieved 23 October 2015. zero width joiner character in
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- ↑ SLIIT offers UK recognised BBA Degrees, ITpro.lk
- ↑ SLIIT produces 675 IT Graduates this year, Sundayobserver
- ↑ SLIIT expands network to Jaffna and Bangladesh
- 1 2 SLIIT enrols students from Asia and Africa for new intake
- 1 2 "History of SLIIT". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
- ↑ Colombo Academy of Hospitality Management
- ↑ "Globally recognised Hospitality Management degree now offered for the first time in Sri Lanka at SLIIT".
- ↑ Media release, Curtin University of Technology Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ SLIIT-SHU partnership, Sheffield Hallam University http://www.shu.ac.uk/sliit/ SLIIT-SHU partnership, Sheffield Hallam University
- ↑ SLIIT Affiliations Archived 12 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ SLIIT Research Symposium, SLIIT
- ↑ Keynote Address to the hSenid 10th Anniversary Celebration, 22 March 2007, U.S. Embassy, Colombo
- ↑ "SLIIT not sold; it only returned MTF money". Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ "Government Notifications" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 1933/13: 25A. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ↑ "Key Sectors For Investment - Knowledge Services". BOI Sri Lanka. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- 1 2 "Webometrics ranking of World Universities, picks SLIIT number one". Daily News. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ Thilan Wijesinghe: Walking Tall
- ↑ "LMD ranks SLIIT No. 1 in Higher Education". Daily News. 12 December 2013.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka".
- ↑ "2013 July".
- ↑ "SLIIT ranked SL's highest private educational institution in Webometrics 2015 Rankings". Daily FT. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Affiliated Universities". Retrieved 3 June 2015.