Interview with Professor Saman Thilakasiri, Dean - Faculty of Engineering, SLIIT

SLIIT, Sri Lanka’s leading higher education institute, established its Faculty of Engineering in the year 2007 to produce world-class graduates who can step into the corporate limelight with confidence, according to the vision of the institute to offer excellence in higher learning, research and other Engineering centered activities. “The Faculty of Engineering has a solid infrastructure provided by the parent institute SLIIT, which began its journey as a pathway to higher education as far back as 1999 by identifying the need for education for global careers. For the past 20 years SLIIT has produced over 27,000 success stories that have enriched many lives and created a high demand for those who seek globally acclaimed educational standards. The institute provides quality education and it is evident by the prominence of the SLIIT alumni have gained in all parts of the world through their outstanding achievements in all spheres,” stated Professor Saman Thilakasiri, Dean- Faculty of Engineering. 

SLIIT ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS

The Faculty of engineering is comprised of five academic departments. At present, students have the option of choosing from a range of degree programmes with the Bachelor of Science of Engineering being provided in four disciplines; Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Material Engineering. These degree programmes are categorized into over eight specializations including the specialization in Mechatronic Engineering. Students can avail themselves of these valuable degrees at a minimum cost.

Our graduates will find that the qualifications they earned at SLIIT are fully recognized as all the engineering degrees awarded by SLIIT are approved by the Ministry of Higher Education of Sri Lanka under the Universities Act. In addition, SLIIT offers the Bachelor of Engineering Degrees in three discipline areas of Civil and Construction Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in partnership with the Curtin University, Australia, which gives the option of the students choosing to complete their studies either in Australia or in Sri Lanka. The Curtin Engineering programmes conducted at the Faculty of Engineering have received the full accreditation by the Engineers Australia from 2016 to 2022. Moreover, the Department of Quantity Surveying offers a BSc. Honours Degrees in field in conjunction with the Liverpool John Moores University, UK.

PROFESSIONAL LECTURE PANEL AND ACEDEMIC EXCELLANCE

With a highly qualified full time academic staff to offer guidance at all times, state-of-the –art well-quipped laboratories and other infrastructure facilities, students are guaranteed to emerge as world class professionals with the ability to reach their maximum potential on par with global standards. During their undergraduate studies, they are provided compulsory 6-month on-the-job training, which will give them valuable hands-on experience within their respective fields in the industry. “Much like extracting a diamond from the rough, our full time lecturers bring out the best in each of their students and trained to assist a student in making the best choice in terms of education and career opportunities. To assist this process, our undergraduate curriculum is prepared according to the outcome base education system to comply with the Washington Accord Accreditation through the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL)” added Professor Saman Thilakasiri. 

OVERALL COMPETENCY

The quality system adopted in the degree programmes offered in the Faculty of Engineering are governed by the same system adopted in the parent institute SLIIT under the guidance of a well reputed quality assurance expert. Further, the complete university environment provided in the SLIIT Malabe campus and the other infrastructure facilities such as library, internet and sport give the students the best learning experience in the Faculty of Engineering. After thorough review of its capabilities, the faculty of Engineering was granted permission to award postgraduate research degrees leading upto MPhil and PhD by the Ministry of Higher education, Sri Lanka.

UNITY IS STRENGTH

SLIIT’s Faculty of Engineering is further structured to promote unity among students and enhance their communication skills and other inherent talents through various extracurricular activities such as the RoboFest which is a national level competition organized by the Department of Electronics and Electronics. In addition to that, ‘Kala Nethra,’ ‘Ganther,’ ‘Lantheruma’ and ‘Wasantha Muwadora’ are organized by SLIIT Engineering Faculty. Students are also encouraged to develop a strong sense of compassion through numerous charitable activities organized by the Faculty of Engineering and SLIIT.