The colourful ceremony was a joyous occasion where students who entered APIIT as young undergraduates finally reaped the fruits of their hard labour and formally bid goodbye to ‘student life’.  Reflecting the high standards of education at APIIT leading to overall personality development, the graduands marched on to the stage to receive their awards exuding confidence; they surely appeared poised to take on the challenges of career and life ahead.

The CEO of APIIT Sri Lanka, Dr. Athula Pitigala-Arachchi, in his address, stated that he is proud of the great strides the organization has made in the recent past; he said that APIIT has emerged as the indisputable leader in the private higher education sector and attributed this success to consistent upholding of high standards and quality of education programmes.

“Today, unlike in the past, higher education is an international enterprise.  There are two facets to the internationalisation of higher education.  On one hand, millions of students cross national borders each year in search of higher education opportunities.  On the other hand, we see education programmes crossing borders in search of students; leading universities in the world take their programmes out of home countries and into regions where there is a growing demand for higher education.  APIIT – Sri Lanka is involved in both these aspects of international education.  With the support of our international partners, APIIT in Malaysia and Staffordshire University in the UK, we bring high quality degree programmes into Sri Lanka; at the same time, we assist our students to transfer to foreign universities”, elaborated Dr. Pitigala-Arachchi.

Speaking further, Dr. Pitigala-Arachchi stated that this type of international collaboration in higher education has become a must today where knowledge has replaced physical capital as the source of wealth.  “Knowledge has become the main factor of production, the main driver of the economy.  Countries that assimilate and deploy more knowledge have a competitive advantage and become more prosperous.  Sri Lanka needs more knowledge workers if we are to thrive in this competitive global environment.  Sri Lanka needs to improve the quality and standards of its education system and expand opportunities for higher education urgently.

This is a challenge the government alone cannot meet.  Private initiatives are imperative.  With the support of our international partners, APIIT – Sri Lanka is already making a valuable contribution to higher education; indeed, we are in a position to provide leadership to the private higher education sector to make a significant contribution to manpower development in Sri Lanka” opined Dr. Pitigala-Arachchi.

His Excellency Dominic Chilcott, the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka who graced the fifth APIIT – Sri Lanka Convocation as the Chief Guest congratulated APIIT for forging collaborative links with British Universities.  He said that the educational links between Sri Lanka and Britain are going from strength to strength. British universities and Sri Lanka organisations like APIIT are becoming ever more innovative in finding ways to meet the growing demand in Sri Lanka for British courses and British qualifications.

At APIIT-Sri Lanka Convocation 2007, Staffordshire University was represented by Professor Peter Reynolds, Director of the International Office, Dr. James O'Kane, Faculty Director, Business School and Dr Hamish Main, Director of South Asian Partnerships.  APIIT Malaysia was represented by Dr. Parmjit Singh, Managing Director of APIIT main campus in Kuala Lumpur.  Professor Peter Reynolds awarded the degrees on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of Staffordshire University.

Dr. Parmjit Singh, Managing Director of APIIT Malaysia commented that this year, APIIT- Sri Lanka has taken a major step in its development when it started offering two Master of Science Degrees in Technology Management and in Computing in collaboration with Staffordshire University.  “This clearly demonstrates how well APIIT-Lanka has matured over the years, and more importantly this provides graduates with the opportunity to further their studies as they embark on their careers”.

APIIT - Sri Lanka, in association with APIIT Malaysia and Staffordshire University, UK, is part of an international collaboration with links to a wide range of reputable universities in the UK and Australia. APIIT - Sri Lanka's principal purpose is to produce high quality graduates who possess the knowledge and skills in Computing, Business Information Technology and Business Administration and to make them true professionals in their respective fields.

The institute focuses intensely on professional development as a key requirement to develop a successful career. Thus, in addition to receiving quality education that keeps abreast of new developments, APIIT students are further trained to adhere to a professional code of ethics covering aspects of image and conduct expected of a true professional.