As technology progresses rapidly, the demand f o r I n f o r mat i o n Technology professionals keeps increasing day by day. If you are seeking for a degree programme with a high employability rate and you are interested in obtaining an internationally recognized degree in IT, then the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) conducted by the University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) is especially for you. 

The University of Colombo has a long history of teaching Computing which goes back to 1967. In 2002, with the guidance of Late Vidya Jyothi Emeritus Professor V K Samaranayake, UCSC was established as a separate faculty and the first higher learning centre of Computing in Sri Lanka.

Over the last five decades, the University of Colombo has firmly established as one of the leading figures in Computer Science and IT education with the vision of being a global leader in Computing advancing the frontiers of new knowledge through learning and research.

From the initiation, the UCSC has been achieving eminence above every other ICT learning centre in Sri Lanka. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievements is known not o n l y i n Sri Lanka but also in many other countries in the world. The Unive r s i t y Gr ant Commission (UGC) annually selects around 300 students for the degree programmes namely C o m p u t e r S c i e n c e ( C S ) , Information System (IS) and Software Engineering (SE) conducted by UCSC. However, the number of graduates coming out of the university every year was not sufficient to meet national requirements in the domain of Computing.

Thus in the year 2000, the first external IT degree, Bache lor of Informat ion Technology (BIT) was introduced as a respond to the ever-increasing demand for IT professionals in the industry. The BIT degree programme has been designed with 50 years of experience in teaching Computing and the assist of the well qualified academics in the field. Throughout this programme, a special focus has been placed on the requirements and demands of the IT industry.

UCSC follows internationally acceptable curriculum/ syllabi guidelines of ACM- IEEE in developing the curriculum of the degree programmes. It helps us to obtain an international level recognition for the BIT degree. During the last 16 years, we have changed the curriculum 5 times considering the developments of the Informat ion Technology and international standards in Computing degrees.

In the year 2003, we introduced e-Learning framework for the BIT degree programme to promote selfstudy and continuous assessments. A few years later, we declared the condition of successfully completing all continuous assessments of courses as a partial requirement for the diploma certificate of BIT programme. In the last curriculum revision, we introduced enhancement courses in diploma to develop competency and soft skills of students.

All these changes which we do time to time, have a direct impact on the quality of the degree programme. Some of our past BIT graduates have obtained doctoral degrees in Computing and some others have high profiles in the career. If you wish to enrol at one of the best universities in Sri Lanka for an IT degree and consider selecting the BIT degree programme at UCSC, it would not be a burden on your budget and would be flexible for the students based on their background.

BIT has become a professional degree which produces certified IT professionals to the industry and the current employability rate of BIT is over 90%. Soon after A/L, school leavers could select BIT as a full-time degree programme or a parallel part-time programme while engaging in a job or following another course or a degree. Students who complete the first year of the study will receive a Diploma in Information Technology (DIT) and after completing the second year of the study, they will receive a Higher Diploma in Info r mat i o n Technology (HDIT).

The students could consider those two diplomas as exit points or could continue until they complete the requirements for the degree – Batchelor of Information Technology (BIT). The registered BIT students are highly encouraged to read the degree in a self-centred education because it allows the students to study in their own time and at their own pace. More than half of the candidates study on their own (self-study) with the help of e-learning services (http://vle.bit. lk) managed by e-Learning Centre (eLC) of UCSC.

At the same time, students could attend teaching classes conducted by private institutes or private teachers according to their wish. BIT is conducted in the publicprivate- partnership mode since UCSC is not directly involved in the teaching process of it. For those who need a support from an external party, there is a considerable number of institutes widely spread around the country covering all the provinces. By 2017, more than 30 training institutes have offered classes, training programmes and learning support for the BIT candidates.

But all the examinations are conducted by UCSC according to bylaws and regulations approved by the University of Colombo. The administrative activities of BIT degree programme are handled by the External Degree Centre (EDC) of UCSC located at No. 17, Swarna Road, Colombo 05. The registration for the programme will be done by UCSC and details available at http://www.bit.lk Each year, UCSC publishes the summary of examination results of each institute so that the candidates can identify the available institutes and plan their learning mode.

UCSC BIT degree programme is ideal for those who are looking to obtain a degree qualification as a part-time course while c o n t i nu i n g thei r c ar e e r. Registering for BIT will not disqualify you from registering for any other public university according to the approval given by the University Grant Commission. The minimum time required to complete BIT is 3 years. In the third year, students will have to carry out a software development project to meet the requirements of a real client as a compulsory requirement to complete the degree successfully.

More details are available at http://www. bit.lk or http://bit.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk. B I T, t h e B a c h e l o r o f Information Technology, has become the most popular external d e g r e e p r o g r a m m e i n Information Technology in Sri Lanka. Without any interruption, UCSC has carried out this programme for the last 16 years. As a higher learning centre, UCSC has been privileged to receive a high reputation and recognition from the industry and this has opened the path to a high rate of employability for the graduates.

UCSC is a leader in providing its students with rewarding future careers focusing on their personal and professional development. Our graduates have been employed in many local and international companies and organizations because of the incomparable reputation and the high quality of our programme. With respect to the facilities and performances, UCSC is the strongest faculty to study Information Technology and Computer Science in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the decision to follow a degree in Computing at the University of Colombo School of Computing would be a great accomplishment and one of best decisions that you could make in your life.