SLIIT, the nation’s leading non-state higher education institute clinched the prestigious Best/Model Internal Quality Assurance Unit Award presented at the Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) Awards 2019 ceremony held recently. SLIIT received the award outperforming many other higher education providers in the entire Asia Pacific Region. The gala ceremony was held on 29th March 2019 at Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo. This year’s event was graced by the Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, the Hon. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Rauf Hakeem, Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education.

Over 150 members attended the conference which included other distinguished guests and academics. SLIIT received APQN’s Best/Model Internal QA Award in honour of its commitment to quality assurance mechanisms, quality culture and outstanding contributions in promoting quality and excellence of higher education within the institution. The award also marked a tremendous milestone for SLIIT as it indicated the capability of the institute in establishing and executing quality assurance initiatives as a strategic measurement to enhance the quality of education provided to its students.

APQN has been developed with the purpose of serving the needs of quality assurance in higher education in Asia Pacific Region, which contains over half the world’s population. The Network promotes good practices in the maintenance and improvement of quality in higher education in the region. At present APQN comprise 222 members from 53 countries. The awards presented by Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) honor organisations and individuals for their outstanding contributions to quality assurance and exemplary efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

“I congratulate Prof. Colin N. Peiris, our Director for Academic Development and Quality Assurance at SLIIT for his immense guidance in spearheading all quality assurance related activities within the institution which included establishing as the primary source, the Internal Quality Assurance Unit and sub divisions such as the Curriculum Assessment Committee, Faculty Quality Cells, Staff Development Centre, and Quality Audit Reviews,” said Prof. Lalith Gamage, Vice Chancellor/CEO, SLIIT.

Notably, Prof Peiris is also the founder Director of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council, UGC, Sri Lanka. Bringing further esteem to SLIIT, three academic staff members including Prof. Colin N. Peiris, Director, Academic Development and Quality Assurance, Dr. Anuradha Karunasena, Head, Staff Development Centre and Dr. Windhya Rankothge, Secretary, Curriculum Assessment Committee presented three papers on quality assurance initiatives established in SLIIT at the APQN Conference’s Parallel Session 4: Quality in Higher Education in Sri Lanka.