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 which supports companies driving digital transformation innovation globally.
The MOU encompasses training and development, partnering the entity for faculty visits, priority picking of talent, soft skill training and advising on new curriculum development.
“One of the key promises agreed was that APIIT develops and provides 100 top quality IT graduates for Virtusa to interview and select, based on the different requirements of the organization”, said Chairman 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. We are currently are at just a billion dollars in export revenue”, he added.
One of the key features of the MOU was the launch of the ‘Digital Discovery Program’ a signature programme of Virtusa 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 its top quality IT students with strong soft skills spanning a 22 year heritage under the Staffordshire University, UK.
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 organisations. Some can be even seconded to overseas entities provided they are qualified at a higher level like a Master’s programme for which APIIT has built a name in the market,
The signature brand ‘Digital Discover Program’ consists of many industrial sessions enriched with core and emerging technical skills together with project management and professional skills. It will 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 where undergraduates can become industry-ready while also enhancing the probability of employment.
Speaking at the event, Director of APIIT Dr. Rohantha Athukorala said that the role of educational institutes is to produce talent that will help solve the problems that the private sector is up against. “We will train students with the support of organizations like Virtusa so that we can provide 100 top IT graduates to organisations initially and then we will scale up. This in turn will ensure that an organisation like Virtusa meets the promise that cater to 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 while the front end is in Europe, US and Australia. We are committed to play this role”, he said.
Head of HR – Sri Lanka for 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 is 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 while uplifting our youth to meet international standards”.
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.
APIIT was represented by Chairman Bandula Egodage, Chief Executive Officer Roshan Egodage and Board Directors Dr Rohantha Athukorala, Gamindu Hemachandra and Head of IT Administration Nirosha Perera.
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 a preferred choice.
